


Save Me From The Darkness

by Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: AU, Abuse, Angst, Drama, F/M, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Murder, Romance, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:35:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 59,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon/pseuds/Kawaii_Chibi_InuDemon
Summary: Sam isn't like the other kids. Her family is rich and she isn't allowed outside of her house unless her parents want to show her off. She doesn't want the life they are thrusting her into, but she doesn't want to live in the outside world...until she meets Danny, a boy that is part ghost, but can he help her or will her parents keep her under their thumb with their punishments?
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Sam had been alone for a good portion of her life, her parents more concerned with what was happening outside their home than what was going on inside. While it seemed that they were the best parents on the outside, the inner workings of their family were both kept secret and strict. Their daughter was to be married off to a man of their choosing and when that time came they would sign her over without a choice given to the raven haired female.

Said Goth was outside her home, in the spacious backyard, looking forlorn as she glanced around the vibrant garden that her mother kept up... well, her gardeners did. Her mother wasn't one to given the role of caretaker. She wasn't a good mother and would only cause the plants to wither and die if she were allowed to take care of them. The thing was that with all that she had tried to instill in her young child, none of it had stuck. The raven haired beauty cared not for the riches in her grasp or the power that she could hold over another human. She was her own person and as such held her own thoughts and beliefs.

Her amethyst orbs narrowed when she heard them come home, another morning at the Yacht Club with their boring friends talking about how much money they had or another marriage arrangement that had not worked out. There were no emotions shown when they were out and about, but when they came home all that could be heard was yelling. Curses were thrown about and hate filled the rooms. Sam always tried to avoid that, not that it was easy when she could hear it at all hours of the day. At the age of 15 she had found that without even being around others that she didn't want to be in a crowd, the feeling of being surrounded by the hate that her parents allowed to consume them, not something she wanted to be submerged in. The outside world was still unknown to her and with as many times as she had wanted to see beyond the walls of her large Victorian style home or the large rock wall that kept her indoors, she now knew that she didn't want that life either. She was truly stuck in between the two, neither one of them a choice she would make to live in.

Sam didn't want to stay in her home forever, forced to marry a man that she would never love since it would not be until their wedding day that they would meet. Yes, her family was like all the other wealthy ones in that respect. They still did arranged marriages and seeing how it had worked out for her own parents she knew she would not be happy in such a relationship. With that in mind she figured that as soon as she was eighteen that she would run away, run from this town called Amity and find herself a place that she could be alone or at least with less people around. She only had to wait three more years and that dream would come to fruition. The problem with her plan was the fact that one, she would have to use the money she didn't want and two, she knew little about the outside world to even find a place to call her own.

"Man, I can't believe that you bailed on me," a male voice stated, the sound of it just close enough that Sam rose a brow. No one came around her home, not with how hateful her parents could be when it came to their daughter. They sheltered her from everything! She had music lessons and even an art teacher came to help her become more like the trophy wife she would be destined to become, but she wasn't allowed to listen to music that wasn't the classics or to read anything that might taint her temperament. They didn't have a TV or radio in the home, at least not that she was aware of. Glancing back at the sliding door that lead into the living room of the house she moved closer to where she had heard the voices.

"Man, I don't know how you thought that I could help you with that ghost," came another male voice. Her brows rose at that. Ghosts? Were ghosts real? She had only read of a few stories with ghosts in them, Shakespeare and such, but she had always thought that the idea was fanciful or something. Could one live without a real body? "Hell, Skulker was in a mood today." Sam glared at the wall that was keeping her from the other two voices that continued to talk and she yearned to be on that side of the wall for the first time in her life. She wanted to know more about what these two guys were talking about. Without thought for what she was doing the raven haired teen reached out and began to climb the wall, her feet bare as she attempted to move up the wall with her long pink dress hindering her movements. The stones of the wall were hot to the touch, but she didn't care. She wanted out of that yard barren of any life save for the plants and there was nothing ho-

"Ow!" she cried as she cut her foot on a sharpened stone before losing her grip on the wall and tumbling back. Her head hit the grass with a painful sounding 'thud' and all of the sounds around her seemed to stop, or at least she couldn't hear them anymore. Her sight seemed to blur for that one second, but she was sitting up a few seconds later, her hand touching the tender spot on the back of her skull with a wince.

"Hey, did you hear that?" came the first male voice, his tone one of curiosity. The other male said nothing so when Sam looked up to find herself face to face with a pair of ice blue eyes she nearly jumped back. He stared at her, assessment of her person rather apparent before realizing what he had done.

"Y-You..." she whispered as her hand fell from the back of her head to cover her mouth as it gaped open. "You are in the wall!" His eyes grew wide with worry at what he had done without thinking, the small teen looking at him with wonder. He was curious as to why she didn't look afraid, but before he could back out of the stone he noticed the small glint of the blood on her face. He didn't know why it should bother him as he had never seen this girl before, but something about her unusual eye color seemed to draw him further into the yard. Suddenly she did look worried as she glanced over toward a door before turning back to him. "You can't be here!" she cried before biting her pink bottom lip. "My pare-" She stopped herself from revealing a part of her life that no one outside her household knew.

"It's just that...well, you have blood on your face." Moving her hand from her face she noted the small amount of blood that painted her fingers and part of her palm.

"Oh, I must have cut my head," she murmured. "I'll be okay." He didn't seem convinced, his eyes taking note of the cut on her the bottom of her right foot.

"And your foot," he pointed out. Her eyes narrowed for a moment. "I have never seen you before. Are you new?" It appeared that she wasn't going to answer for a moment, another glance toward the door making the male before her wonder what she was watching for.

"Danny! What the hell are you doing man?" the male on the other side of the wall asked, a bit of concern in his tone. "These rich people are going to flip when they see you!" Danny glanced back at the wall and then back at the female before him just as the sound of shouting filtered out of the home behind her. Her reaction was immediate as she quickly stood, her body tensing up as a voice called out, the tone making even Danny wince.

"SAMANTHA?! Where are you?" The girl before him moved quickly, her small limp noticeable even as she tried to walk normal. This was very curious to the blue eyed male, but he knew that he really shouldn't be seen and so without a thought he went intangible as the door to the home opened up and a red headed woman stuck her head out. Her teal eyes flashed when she noted the blood on her daughter's pale face. "What did you do?! We have a party to go to in an hour!"

"Nothing," the girl muttered as she frowned back at her mother. "I fell back and hit the wall." The woman didn't even blink at those words, Danny becoming uneasy with what he was witnessing.

"That is not how you talk to me, young lady," the woman snapped. He could see that the girl was shaking slightly, but it was anger as her tone betrayed her feelings.

"I am sorry, Mother," the raven haired teen said with a slight bow. "I will do better in the future." Danny watched the pair disappear into the home before the older woman slammed the glass door shut. He could still hear her berating the young girl several minutes later. He wanted to follow her, but turning with a sigh he went back thru the wall to find his friend looking rather antsy.

"What the hell were you thinking man? What if someone sa-"

"She did," Danny stated, not looking all that worried for someone with a secret such as he. His friend looked even more worried. "Don't worry, Tucker, she wasn't afraid and with what I saw before she was hauled indoors, I doubt that she would say a word." He glanced back at the wall that divided him from the girl on the other side. He would come back later. He couldn't figure out what was going on in that home and he didn't know who these people were, but he couldn't seem to leave that girl there knowing what he knew from watching that one simple interaction between parent and child. He explained to his friend about the small female teen on the other side.

"Yeah, well, she won't tell anyone anything," the dark skinned male stated, almost sadly. Danny raised a brow at his friend's choice of words. "This family is part of the wealthy variety and they don't let their children out of the house, well, out into the world until they marry them off." He had only thought that that kind of thing happened in books or even so long ago that no one did that kind of thing anymore. "They treat them like dolls, dressing them up and ensuring that they are the perfect little wife for a rich husband to tote around and show off." With one final glance at the large house the pair of teens headed off.

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Sam sat in her room, her dress for the evening sitting out on her bed before her, waiting for her to slip into the pale rose outfit. It was long, the hem of it falling to the ground with little bits of lace on the puffy sleeves and around the square cut collar. The collar was low enough that you could see her collar bone, but not enough to see anything more. She hated the dress, just like she hated everything in her life, but her mind wasn't on that outfit laid out for her. No, she was thinking of the boy she had met, the only one outside her family's circle. His bright blue eyes were burned into her mind, his raven hair falling over one of those eyes as he looked down at her injury with worry. No one worried about her getting hurt, no, just about the fact that she had damaged herself. If she had any marks on her she would be seen as damaged goods so with the aid of a maid she was patched up.

She would be given a bath to wash the blood out of her hair before she was strapped into her uniform and thrust out to be shown off. She would be pranced around like a prized mare when she wanted to scream and fight those that would do that to her. That only earned her a punishment and while you would think that she didn't care... well, there were punishments that could be worse than death. The fact that her father had filled her in on such punishments while her mother watched was degrading and made her feel like less of a person. Sure, they made sure not to damage her in a way that would shame them, but they did it none the less. That was only the more extreme measure. Most of the time it was starvation. She would not be fed for days on end, while they would eat in front of her. Shuddering at the thought she heard the sound of her bedroom door opening as a couple of maids entered to get her ready for the show.


	2. Chapter 2

There was no moon that night as the Manson family headed back indoors after the long night at one of their Clubs, Sam looking a little worn out from all the smiling she had been forced to do and the heels that had not only left her with blisters, but had allowed sweat into the cut on her foot. She knew she would be in trouble the moment they got into the house and she wasn't wrong as the door shut behind her father.

"You were sloppy tonight," he snapped, his wife standing back to allow her husband to grab their daughter roughly by the hair. She refused to let out a whimper even as the pull of several strands tugged on that wound from her fall. "You limped like a weakling and those smiles! If you could call those fucking grimaces smiles!" He thrust her into a wall, her back hitting the solid surface seconds before her head did. She blinked a few times as her body slid down the wall. Her vision was blurry and the pain in her skull that had dulled down a bit from earlier, came back stronger, the world before her starting to spin. "I should punish you in the worst way!" he spat, turning from her to look to his wife, but the woman before him just continued to glare at the downed teen.

"She was out in the yard today, doing god knows what, and injured herself," the red head stated. Her father had not known this, his blue eyes turning to join in staring at the raven haired teen. "Jeremy, I think that starving her this time is the right choice." He scoffed. Starving never worked. She was rebellious and unwilling to conform unless they did the most drastic stuff, not that it mattered when he knew that he wasn't the father of the small teen. He was sterile, but his wife had fucked around with another male to give him an heir... not that he liked the fact that she had done that, but he was given a child and that was all that mattered at the time. He was disappointed that she had given him a daughter, a child that could not keep his name, but then again she could bring them more wealth with the right marriage. "Think of it in this respect," his wife stated with a smirk. "If the starvation doesn't bring her to her knees in a few days than she is weak and easily mailable for you to punish her in the other way." Ah, he liked that idea. Maybe they could brainwash her into complying by doing both punishments. It had been a thought in the past, but they had never done it since the teen had been too young for such measures, but with her lack of refinement there was a chance she would never find a wealthy husband to marry her in three years time.

Especially with how lack luster she had been that night. "Sounds like a plan, Pamela." And with that he was gone, the red head glaring down at her child with malice. Calling the servants the small girl was taken into the kitchen to where a small door was revealed in the wall next to the pantry. It had one window that opened up toward the outside world, not that anyone could see it with all the rose bushes that grew there, but it was only to allow the space to heat up. Sam was thrust in there, half conscious, before her mother slammed the door. The door was covered again. This would be where the small girl would stay for up to three days when they punished her, but to her luck that would not be the case that night.

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Danny had watched them enter the house, but had stayed outside as he waited for lights to be shut off before entering the home. He had heard some yelling, but after a few minutes it had stopped and then shortly after that the light in the room above the front door had come on. Another light came on downstairs, but with very few seconds spent in the room the light went off and then the other one did too. He had questions about that too. Where was the light for the girl's room? The one on the floor could be a kitchen or even a living room, but the one upstairs had obviously been the parents room. With what Tucker had told him about the wealthy families in the area, it would make more sense for her room to be in the back. Going intangible he entered the house and moved from room to room in search of the raven haired girl he had seen earlier that day.

He would have loved to call out her name, but he feared that her parents would hear him or she would refuse to answer because of fear. He had seen that in her eyes when her mother had called for her. It took a few tries, but when he found her room she wasn't in it. Nothing much was in it really. She had a bed and all the furniture that one would find in a bedroom, but there was nothing personal in this room to even show that she resided in it. 'What about that room downstairs?' He wandered downstairs, keeping watch on the space for a servant or even one of the parents to come walking around, but when he found where the light had come from he was even more confused and slightly worried. It was a kitchen, but the girl wasn't in there. He was about to turn and leave when the sound of someone groaning caught his attention. Looking back at the space where he could see the door to what had to be a pantry, he waited for the sound to repeat itself and when another sound came instead he knew it was Samantha.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Why?" she muttered as she threw her shoes off. 'Why did I just have to climb that wall?' She pulled at the puffy sleeves of the dress, knowing that if she damaged it she would be punished more severely, but really wanting the suffocating outfit off. She feared what they would do to her after this period of starvation and she knew that before they could do what they usually did, she needed to escape. The only problem was that she didn't know how.

"Hey," came a voice from outside of the entrance to the little room. The amethyst orbs turned to look at it, sure that she had heard someone, but not sure who it was. Was her father coming to get her now? "Samantha?" Who was that? That voice sounded familiar and not like the harsh voice of the male whom she called father.

"Who is there?" she whispered, hesitant to trust whoever was on the other side. She had almost kept quiet, but something in the back of her mind urged her to answer, that there was nothing to fear from the person who owned the soft voice.

"It's me," he whispered. "The boy from earlier." It took her a moment to recall the two males that had passed by her home earlier that day and when she remembered the boy who had stuck his head thru the wall, she blinked. He was in her house?

"The ghost boy?" she asked back. He didn't say anything, sticking his head thru the door before her. She didn't scream, and he noted that she didn't look afraid, just worried. "You can't be here," she said as she stared into his blue eyes. "If you ge-" He shook his head before disappearing before her eyes. 'What?' Reappearing before her he smiled.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, glancing around the small space. "Did your parents put you in here?" Sam debated on what to tell him at that moment. It's not like he could help her or anything, but in the end she just nodded. Danny didn't know what to say to that. He could see that she was holding back information and while he was sure she was afraid to tell him, that she did want to tell him more, but couldn't. What could he do to help this girl? He could help her escape, but when her parents came looking for her then she would be forced back into the place where it was obvious something dubious was happening. "Are you gonna be okay if I leave for a moment?" That seemed to freak her out, her eyes flickering with fear, and he wondered how much of what Tucker had said was true and how much more of it was hidden from anyone outside the family.

"I-I don't know," she muttered, her eyes downcast for a moment. He reached out, his fingers grazing her chin. She flinched at the simple touch, a response that made his eyes flash green. This girl was definitely being abused! He couldn't leave her here, not with the knowledge that if she was being harmed that it could turn out to be deadly in the end. Moving to grasp her around her body, still intangible, he pulled her out of the small space. Without a look around him , he flew out of the house and into the skies. She grasped him around the waist, her body curled into a ball as he took her to his home. His parents would help him, he was sure of it. While they might be upset that he used his powers this way, once they saw how she was acting he knew his mother would want to help get this girl out of the situation that she was in.

While they were flying he noted how small she was, her weight nothing more than that of a feather. Had she been starved as well? Was that why she was in that small space? Danny didn't dare ask her at that point, not with how scared she seemed to be. He found it rather strange that she wasn't all that afraid of him, but then again, he didn't know what her life was like at her home.

"Where a-are we going?" she asked, her voice so small as she refused to move her face from his chest.

"I'm taking you to my house," he stated. "My parents can hel-" She began to shake, squirming slightly against him. "Sam, it'll be okay, I promise." Her movement stopped at the name he called her, but she still shook softly in his arms. He hugged her tighter as they began to descend toward his home. The bright sign over the sidewalk lit up the space below them, the small girl in his arms moving her head to peek under them. Seeing the sign she moved to look on the other side of him as they disappeared into the home. He landed in the middle of his room, her eyes wide as she took in the new room. It was blue with white carpet, while on the walls were several items like posters of space and some others that had people on them. Sitting her down on his bed, the mattress sinking with her weight, he headed for his closet. Her clothing was soaked with sweat and some of it was torn. He wondered if she had done that herself or if it had happened at the hands of her parents, but again he couldn't ask her. Not yet anyway.

Pulling out a pair of old red sweatpants and a large white tee he turned back toward her. She eyed the stuff with unhidden confusion. "Too big?" he inquired. She shrugged, moving to grasp the two items, her eyes still examining the clothing. "What's wrong then?"

"I have never seen clothes like that," she murmured as she held the clothing close. Danny was shocked. She had never seen that kind of clothing? Sure, they were rich, but he was sure that even they would have known what sweatpants were... and a simple t-shirt... "Um..." She looked at him as she held up the clothing, but instead of finishing her sentence she went to pull at her dress, the pink material rather gaudy in appearance. Blushing he turned from her, shocked that she would move to undress before him.

"Um, I-I'll step outside while you do that," he murmured before doing just that. Sam blinked in confusion, but did just that moments later. When she was done she took another hard look around the room and noted that he had a computer in the far end of the room, CD's stacked next to it and a picture of a girl. Sam stood up and walked over to it. Holding it, she frowned at the other teen staring back at her. She was a pretty girl, but her eyes, they were so cold. The teal of her eyes reflecting her haughty nature. She placed the picture down upon the desk, the picture faced down on the surface of it before turning to look at all the books that littered the small space. She could tell that they were school books, but she had never seen any in person before. She was taught via a computer in the study, but the only one that she had seen had been the teacher's manual, and that looked nothing like the hardback books before her. The door creaked and with a quick movement the girl was back by the bed, Danny's eyes watching in shock as she stood stiffly before him.

"Sorry," she muttered, her eyes downcast again. It wasn't Danny who spoke though and Sam's head came up.

"I can see what you mean," the woman beside him remarked. The female was older than Danny, but her hair was red and her eyes a dark shade of teal. Jazz was shocked when Danny had woken her up, his tale about the abused girl drawing out her need to help others. She took in the small form before her, even the halfa's clothing seemed to swamp her. Her hair was cut short, just above her shoulders and looked mussed up. "You said her parents are rich?" she asked, glancing to her brother. He nodded as he too took in her appearance. He hadn't noticed much when he had first seen her, not when she had been sitting on the glass before him. She was about five foot four. Not small since she was girl, but she was too skinny and her skin was so pale he would have been sure she had never gone outside if he hadn't first came across her there. "Samantha, my name is Jazz. I'm his older sister."

The girl before them said nothing for a moment, her gaze a little dazed as she seemed to be trying to stifle a yawn. "Oh, you must be tired," Jazz said with a smile. Sam liked this girl, though she didn't like her as much as she liked Danny. He seemed to draw her and she couldn't say why. Whenever she met someone she immediately tensed up, sure that they were going to tell her parents if she did something out of place for her station, and yet, when she met Danny she had felt an instant feeling of comfort. She had known when she had seen him that he would do her no harm. "Are you hungry?" Blinking Sam went to shake her head, but her stomach beat her to it with a loud grumble.

Blushing she nodded, feeling so embarrassed at the sudden bodily sound. Danny smiled and disappearing he went to get her something to eat. Jazz pulled back the comforter, saying, "Don't worry, Saman-"

"Sam," she said, her blush deepening. The red head glanced over at her. "I don't like that name."

"Oh, okay, then Sam it is," was her response as she smiled at the raven haired girl. "We'll keep you safe." Sitting down on the bed she seemed thoughtful. Sam wondered as to what the other girl was thinking, but she didn't have to wait long as she got an answer. "Danny doesn't usually do this kind of thing, well, unless he feels really strong about it, but it's rather out of character for him to act first before asking for help." The raven haired teen sat down next to Jazz just as Danny reappeared with a salad covered in ranch dressing. The small girl didn't take it, not until he handed it off to her. He was getting and more upset with how she was acting and not because she was doing it, but the fact that it seemed she had been raised in such a way. She didn't seem to have any confidence or maybe she was just unused to being around others... The pair watched as the small girl ate her food, the movements quick, but hesitant.

They would just have to find out more about her situation and while Danny didn't want to push her he knew his parents would. They would be shocked and while they would try to be gentle when they saw how she seemed to act, but they would need more information if they wanted to help her. "Before we bring her out to mom and dad, we should give them as much information that you saw or noticed." Danny nodded. The small girl before them was done eating, but she seemed unsure what to do now with her bowl. The halfa took it from her hands and disappeared again. "You can sleep in here," Jazz said pointing to Danny's bed. "We'll have to put you in a guest room later, but I have a feeling that for tonight you would feel better with Danny instead of by yourself." Sam just nodded, looking at the bed with longing in her amethyst eyes. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy, but she didn't lay down, not until Danny came back and told her it was okay.

He felt so strange having to give her permission, but knew that it would take her a minute to get used to being able to do such things without a word from one of them. After she had gotten comfy he headed off to change, returning only minutes later to find Sam had long passed out, her body curled in a ball on one side of the bed. Sighing sadly at her, the halfa joined her on the twin sized mattress. It felt strange to share a bed with a girl, let alone a girl he had only known for less than a day, but it also seemed natural as he pulled the covers over them. "You'll never have to go back there," he promised as his eyes closed.


	3. Chapter 3

When Danny awoke the next morning, the clock beside his bed announced in big red numbers that it was just past five in the morning, he found that he was alone in his bed. Looking around in worry he noted off the bat that Sam wasn't in his room, her side of the bed cool to the touch, and jumping out of his bed headed for his door only to hear the sounds of someone moving around in the bathroom down the hall. Glancing around to make sure that no one else was awake, he headed for the door. Knocking on the door he waited for a response. It came seconds later, but it wasn't the small girl, no, it was his mother that responded.

"Oh, sorry, mom," he said before turning around to head back to his room, worried about where the raven haired girl had gone. Passing by a closet he heard a sound from behind the door. Just as he was opening the closet door, the door to the bathroom opened, his mother looking rather groggy as she eyed her son. Slamming the door without having even gotten a look in the dark space he turned to his mother.

"Hmm," she murmured as she approached him. "I thought I saw you earlier." Danny gulped. When he didn't respond she just shrugged her shoulders, her mouth opening in a yawn, but before she could take another step a whimper from the other side of the door drew her attention. Maddie glanced at her son and then at the door. "Danny?" When she moved to open the closet, the halfa sighed. He knew he was caught.

"Before you open that, I um, I have to tell you something," he muttered before explaining to his mother what he had done the night before, her purple eyes growing wider with every word out of her son's mouth. "She's very skittish," he said before opening the door to reveal a teary eyed girl. She pushed back from them, moving as far back as she could in the small linen closet. "It's okay, Sam. This is my mother." She looked to him, her amethyst orbs wide with fear, but she still didn't move from her spot even as peeked over at the woman next to Danny. She seemed to be thinking about it, analyzing the woman that stood before her.

"Hello, Sam," Maddie said with a soft smile. "Danny was telling me about how he came across you, but he doesn't seem to know all that much about you so how about you come out so we can talk?" Maybe it was the way she spoke to the Goth or maybe she just felt like it was okay, but either way the small girl crawled out of the closet. She didn't move toward Maddie though, choosing to stand behind Danny. "Do you like pancakes?"

"I've never had that," she muttered to the shock of the other two in the hallway. "I'm not allowed to eat anything, but oatmeal or grits." Now Maddie looked mildly upset. Why would a parent only feed their child only those two items, not that either were bad, but nothing else?

"Well, we don't have those two items in the house, but we also have cereal or Pop Tarts, if you would rather have those," the red headed adult offered. Sam nodded, moving to follow as Maddie headed downstairs with Danny following behind the raven haired teen. She moved slowly, watching around her as if she were expecting someone to jump out and snatch her. While following his mother, Sam still stuck close to him, though not close enough to touch him. After getting her some of the cherry flavored pastries while Danny opted for the Fruity Pebbles, Maddie sat down, noting off the bat that the small teen hadn't touched her food.

"It's okay," Danny said while pushing her food closer. She looked over at Maddie, waiting for her to say it too and finally she began to munch on the breakfast treat as the older woman watched with undisguised anger at whoever had caused this child to act that way. "I told you," the halfa muttered, also noting that Sam kept watching them from the corner of her eyes, but never making direct eye contact. He had yet to tell his mother the darker part of the girl's past, one he had no proof of other than the way she acted, or the fact that the girl was rather small in size.

"So, you found her in a yard on the way home and witnessed the interaction with her mother?" He nodded. "You went into their home?" Again he nodded. "Danny, you know you should have called for us to come and do this the right way."

"They had her in a hole, locked up with barely anything on in the way of clothing," he grumbled, the small girl next to him tensing. "Hell, they were obviously abusing her." Maddie looked over at the girl and noted for the first time upon seeing the girl how small she was, her wrists slender, but too weak looking to be normal.

"We can't do much, save for calling the police and having them investigate what is going on in th-" Sam thrust her food away from her, the plate crashing off the table as she scrambled to get away from the pair of them. Cussing under his breath, Danny rushed to grab her and pull her to him. She fought for a moment, but shrinking she clung to him as her body shook. It was the first time that either had seen that reaction, but it was a sign that the girl had gone thru that already or had been warned about dealing with the authorities.

"No-o," she whispered. "They'll take me back and then-n my parents will hi-" A sob broke from her lips against her will and Maddie nearly saw red.

"What the fuck?" she hissed. This girl was broken, though she was able to hide it well enough. Moving slowly to stand before the girl and her son, she crouched down. "Sam, do your parents hurt you?" At first it didn't seem that she was going to get an answer, but at Danny's urging she responded with a nod. "What do they do?"

"They don't do anything to leave a mark," was the simple response. Danny looked at his mother in confusion. This meant that it had been going on for a while and while the parents had done it, they had known what they could get away with and what would cause suspicion. "No," she whispered. "Because product can't be damaged." Danny's eyes flashed green at those words, his mother letting out a gasp.

"Oh, honey, you are not a product," she murmured, tears gathering in her eyes at the thought that this girl had been thru so much to make her think that she wasn't anything more than an object. Sam looked up at her now, her body still tense as she continued to cling to Danny. "You are a breathing, living human and your parents are monsters for whatever they have done to make you think otherwise." Danny wanted to tell his mother his suspicions about the other things he had seen, but was afraid how Sam would react to his assumptions.

"Have your parents had to deal with the cops before?" The small raven haired girl nodded. "When you were younger or recently?"

"Younger," she muttered. "They paid them off."

"Okay, well, we won't go to the cops yet. We will have to at some point or it will be bad for all of us, do you understand?" Sam nodded. "Do you want to go back and get more sleep?" Sam looked at Danny, but he told her that he wouldn't be able to stay home since he had to go to school in a few hours. She looked back at Maddie, unsure. "Danny has to go to school, but I will be here and I won't let anything happen to you." Nodding, she moved to walk back to the stairs. "We can talk later, okay?" The small female nodded and walking back upstairs headed for Danny's room.

"There is more," the halfa stated.

"I had a feeling," his mother said with a sad sigh. As she cleaned up Danny filled her in on the state of the girl's room and his other suspicion. Maddie plopped down in a chair, her anger boiling at all that she was hearing. "You think that she's being sexually abused?" He nodded as he explained how she had reacted to his touch. "Hm, that could be the case or she's never been touched in a way that wasn't aggressive." She looked up as the door to her daughter's room opened. "What does Jazz think?"

"I don't know. Sam was pretty tired when I got her home, so Jazz hasn't had time to really talk to her," was his response just as the red head teen entered the kitchen. Maddie turned to her daughter, ready to ask the question that was still unanswered.

"It's not unheard of," the red head stated, knowing what her mother had been ready to ask. "Sam is obviously sheltered from the outside, not knowing what certain clothing was and the simple fact that she seems overwhelmed with all that she is seeing. As for the abuse, she seems to be groomed. She doesn't seem to show all the signs, but who is to say that they haven't made her feel as if it is normal behavior for a child to be treated this way." It made sense with how timid the girl seemed to be, awaiting approval for simple tasks.

"She didn't even wait for me to leave the room before she went to change," Danny pointed out.

"That could be a sign, though usually someone who is abused is less likely to undress with another person in the room, but again, she could be trained to believe that is something normal." Jazz looked thoughtful for a moment before listing all that she had noticed with the raven haired female. "She doesn't talk much and she seemed rather upset to be taken from her home, but not in a way that would be normal or abnormal if she was not allowed out of her parents' sight. She's overly compliant as well, another trait of abuse. She has no confidence, nor does she seem to be the right weight for a girl her age." Maddie raised a brow. "I noticed it last night." The older female nodded. "And the fear she shows upon meeting anyone."

"We'll have to get her to open up and soon," their mother said with a sigh. "I just think that she won't do that unless Danny is in the room when we do talk to her about it." Danny agreed, as the small girl seemed to open up more with him, while when she had met his sister and mother she had moved closer to him for safety. "When you get home, then we can talk to her."

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A few hours later found the halfa in school, his mind on the small girl that was in his home and what he could do to help her. "So, what's going on in that head of yours?" Tucker asked as they walked down the halls. Danny filled him in on what he had done, and while Tucker reacted like his mother, the other male had yet to meet the newest member in the house. "You kidnapped that girl from her home? Man! I would hate to be you when those parents got a hold of you!"

"You didn't see her!" the halfa spat. "Even my mother and sister are pissed off about what she has been living like!" Some of the students around them glanced at their raised voices. Lowering his voice as they drew closer to their second class of the day before lunch he continued, "She said her parents made sure to not leave marks on her when they hit her. They have been abusing her in other ways." Without even clarifying he could see that the techno-geek understood as his own eyes narrowed. "Hell, that girl is far too skinny, like a twig that could break with just the right gust of wind." With all that was going on in his head, the halfa found that he was growing more and more angry, the urge to find that house again and beat the shit out of her parents a growing urge.

"Okay, so you need her to tell her story, but if she reacted that way to the thought that the cops would be involved, then what makes any of you think that she will when the time comes?" The halfa already had an answer to that, but he would need the help of Tucker on that end.

"We get proof, video proof of her and of the house she was in."

"What about her parents paying off the cops?"

"We don't go to the cops first, we go to the health department," was his immediate response. "My mom has it all figured out on that end, we just need her to voice all that she has had to go thru up until this." Even saying the words, he wasn't sure that he could sit still and listen to those words... He hadn't known the girl but for a couple of days, but he felt like she was someone that would have been a close friend to him had they met under different circumstances, in another life.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam awoke an hour before Danny was to be home, her eyes wide as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings, worry reflecting in her amethyst orbs. 'Where am I?' she wondered before it all came back. She had been saved, taken from her parents. While she was grateful for his assistance, the young female wondered how it would work out in the end. Would it end as it always did before? Would she be back there, her father touching her in ways that felt so wrong and yet, he had told her that it was normal for the male in the family to touch their child, to get her used to the touches she would receive from the man who would be her husband... Shuddering at those same thoughts she climbed out of bed, unsure of where she should go now.

She had never been allowed to do anything in her home, except to go outside on the occasion so that she wasn't super pale from her lack of food. Being light skinned was considered beautiful in the circle of her parents and yet, to be sickly in color would only cast her as unsuitable. She could recall all those times, even as a young child, of being thrust out before others to look her over. Fingers pulling at her raven locks, others touching her body in ways that she found herself recoiling from. Her parents had only stood by, watching as their friends poked and prodded at her small form, listening to the questions of her size, her age, and how pure she was. She had hated it, but understood quickly enough that if she squirmed that she would find herself in that hole that Danny had taken her from. She would be starved, forced to endure the lack of food for days on end until they felt she had learned her lesson.

There were times that even after days without food that she had come out from the darkness with that same mood that had sent her there, but over time she had stopped fighting them... at least less than she had before. She had run at one time, finding herself lost in the park watching other kids enjoy the freedom doing what they wished. Those days had been wonderful and yet, she knew she didn't fit in there, wasn't destined to enjoy such freedoms and then the fear had taken over her small form. She watched as some children shoved at a small boy, his teal eyes narrowing at his tormentors before they started beating on him. She had stayed in the shadows, only ten at the time, unsure what to do. She couldn't stand how the boy was being treated, but while she wanted to help him she was afraid of who would see her and what the would do.

His cries had filled the air, but no one, not the adults walking by or the other kids nearby, would aid in getting the other children away from him. One girl, a raven haired girl with cold teal eyes, had stood by as the blond and the Asian kid continued to thrash the small red headed kid. Finally, when she could take the sounds of misery no more, Sam had rushed to his aid, shoving at the blond male first. "Leave him alone!" At her cry the other boy stepped back, his eyes wide at the small girl before them. The other girl glared at her, shock and anger flashing in her teal eyes. "You're just a big meanie!"

"And you think that bothers me?" the blond stated before shoving her. Sam didn't weigh much so that shove knocked her into the red headed kid behind her, their heads knocking together, but the little raven haired girl didn't care. She moved to stand again, unafraid of the trio before her, not that the Asian kid said much, just watched the interaction between her and the blond.

"I hope you die!" the little girl spat, her anger boiling and for the first time in her life she found herself taking down another person, striking another human being. She was using every bit of her energy as she sat on top of the blond male's chest, her little fists slamming into his face quickly as the frustration from her own life gave her strength to pummel him. The other girl was staring in shock at the blood that burst from the blond child's nose, the red substance coating Sam's little fists.

"Kwan! Get her off of him!" the Hispanic girl cried out, fear in her tone before she noted that the raven haired girl was now looking at her, her eyes flashing in warning before turning that gaze on the other male. Kwan didn't move, his eyes wide as he shook his head. "Damn it!" She shoved Sam off of the blond before yelling at the blond. "How can you let a little girl beat you up, Dash?! I thought you were going to be a football player?!" The boy in question was looking rather dazed, his blue eyes turning black and blue from the beating, but he didn't look too upset, just mildly embarrassed. He looked up at the Hispanic girl before looking at the red faced girl glaring at him, his blood dripping from her fists.

"Samantha!" At the sound of her name, the raven haired child blanched, her body frozen as her mother and father came rushing over, anger glittering in their gazes. She couldn't move and at first, it seemed like none of them could, all the children looking at the pair of adults, but when it appeared that they were in the clear the trio rushed off, the red head muttering his thanks before running in the opposite direction. Noting that there were still others in the park her mother grabbed her, forcing a sob from her lips as she wailed about how afraid they were. Sam knew it was false, that they were just putting on a show as they rushed her out of the park, her small form struggling as she whimpered in fear.

That night had been the worse, the moment her father had touched her the first time in a way that she had instantly recoiled from. She felt shame for the feelings that had followed that. She had felt her body react in a way that she didn't want to acknowledge. He had assured her that it was natural to want such touches, but only from those that were allowed to do such a thing to her. It seemed to like the touch even as she felt bile rise in her throat, but she knew that if she threw up that she would be forced into the pile of vomit, the feel of it against her face and in her nose making her stomach roll with more of it at the ready. She failed to hear the door open as her body broke out in goosebumps at the thought that he might touch her again.

"Sam?" She turned to find Maddie there, her eyes concerned as she took in the fear that reflected back at her from the small girl's gaze. "You want to go with me to get you something to wear?" Sam looked down at Danny's clothing still on her and shook her head. She didn't want the other woman to take her out of the house, the thought that her parents might see her or that the woman before her would see how small she was, how her skin seemed to mold to her bones. "I know that you're scared, but you need something that fits you better," the older woman said as she entered the room. "You can pick whatever you want."

"I, um, I like this," she stated, pulling on the sweatpants with a soft smile.

"We can get you your own too." Sam looked thoughtful. She could wear clothing like him? She liked his clothing and while it was too baggy, it hid her small body. "I won't judge you for something out of your control sweetheart." Finally Sam nodded, her eyes downcast. Maddie reached out, taking the small girl in a hug before rocking slightly. At first Sam tensed, unused to such comfort that the mother of Danny was giving her, but soon found herself relaxing as she smiled. It felt good. A touch that pulled at her heart and calmed her mind. Following the older woman out of the house, still barefoot they headed off to the store.

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Danny came home right after they had left, Tucker following behind him with his backpack full of devices to set up in the halfa's room. When they entered the home to find only his father home, his mother and Sam missing Tucker noted that his friend seemed mildly worried. "Your mother wouldn't have done anything before talking to you about it, dude," the dark skinned male stated, his father's voice filtering from the lab that was closed to their left.

"I know," the halfa muttered, moving toward the closed door. "I just want to know where they went." Entering the lab they found Jack, his father, leaning over the panel that worked the Ghost Portal, his voice frustrated with the device that he had been tinkering with since his son had become the Phantom. His parents had found out about what he had done months after he had stepped into on a whim. He had hidden it for fear that not only would they be upset with him, but that they might treat him like the ghosts they hunted and while they had been mad at him, they had been more concerned with his health. "Hey, dad," he said as he reached out to touch his father on the shoulder. The bulking figure of his father turned toward him, the tool in his hand falling to his side as he placed it on the table to his right.

"Hey, son, met that little thing you brought home," he said with a frown. Danny could see his father's mind working on what to say, knowing that his father was not really upset at what he had done, but more like his mother in the respect that Sam was unlike any child they had ever come across. "Tiny little thing she is and while I agree with your actions, don't do that again." Danny nodded.

"Where is she?" the halfa inquired.

"Oh, your mom took her to the store to get some clothing," he said before turning back to his work. "Can't have that little girl walking around with your clothing swamping her." Sighing he thanked his father before heading out of the lab with Tucker. Tucker was more intrigued with what this girl looked like, especially with how his friend's father had described her. If what Danny had said was true and that the girl was around their age, then for Jack to say that the clothing belonging to the slender teen in front of him, swamped the girl... well, that was saying a lot.

"Let's get it set up before they get back," the raven haired halfa stated, both of them rushing to complete their task in setting up the cameras that would help in proving that Sam didn't need to go back to her home.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forewarning, this chapter is dark and deals with sexual abuse so please, if you can't stomach this don't read this chapter. For some it is a trigger and as an adult that went thru such things myself...well, it hurt to put it to "paper".

Sam stayed close to Maddie as they walked back into Fenton Works an hour later, the small girl watching around her from under the black hoodie that the older woman had purchased for her. The raven haired teen had chosen several dark items, only picking a few more colorful items, but nothing in pink or white. Even her jeans were black, making the small female appear nothing more than a shadow as Maddie shut the door. Sam stood there at the entrance, looking around for where to go or what to do, unaware that Danny was back until his door opened moments after they had come in. Seeing him she moved to join him, stopping short at the stairs when Tucker came out. The dark skinned teen looked at the small teen looking back at them, the fear in her wide amethyst eyes making him feel worried that he had done something wrong himself.

Danny moved quickly to get to her side when it appeared that she was going to run, her body tense as she stood next to him. She didn't move, her eyes glued on the other male, but Danny spoke softly to her, "Sam, this is Tucker, he's my best friend." She still said nothing, but this time she did move, rushing off to find Maddie in the kitchen where she was making dinner for them. The woman looked up in shock when the girl that had been hesitant to be around her just that morning rushed to cling to her. Reaching down, the meal forgotten for the moment, she touched the Goth on the head.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Sam said nothing as the pair of males entered the room. "Oh," she whispered, realizing that Sam had been moving to remove herself from the new male in the house. "Danny, she's being exposed to too many new people. Maybe Tucker should hang out in your room or go home." The male in question didn't look offended at her words, his teal eyes still taking in the small teen hiding behind her. It was strange to think that out of all the people that had met the Goth, that she was the most upset by seeing Tucker, her own eyes observing him, the fear still in the depths of her amethyst orbs.

"Sam, why does he bother you?" Danny asked, the small girl never taking her eyes off Tucker as she recalled another male that looked like him, one that had been at one of the little parties her mother had taken her to. Maddie was going to repeat her words about leaving the girl alone when she spoke.

"He l-looks like..." she faded off, still watching the new male before her. All eyes were on her and while she was afraid, she felt that they wouldn't be mad at her for speaking her mind either. "Um, this other... rich kid...um, that touched me..." She couldn't get it out, her words failing her, but the group of people around her knew what she was trying to say and Danny, he was reeling at the fact that she had managed to say as much as she had while the other half of him was fuming. Tucker nudged the halfa and knowing what he meant took out the recording device before pushing 'record'. "My parents, um, well, took me to parties where prospective... suitors could ch-check out the merchandise." Her face flushed brightly. It had been down right embarrassing and uncomfortable having to stand there and let the males, adults and teens alike, grope her like fruit. To tell the people before her wasn't as bad as living it, but she felt so dirty acknowledging that she had been fondled.

"They were allowed to touch you in front of your parents?" Maddie inquired. "On your..." she faded off. She couldn't even bring herself to say those words, to put into the world those very images of a child being touched by others as if she were an object.

"The parents of the boys did it too," she muttered, unaware of the flash of green in Danny's eyes or the look of disgust in Tucker's. Maddie turned to pull the small girl in her arms again, tears swimming in her eyes. "I-I hate them. I ha-ate that they made me-e dirty!" she wailed into the older woman's chest. Her hood fell back as Maddie stroked her head, her hair moving with each stroke. She clung to the red headed woman, her body shaking as she released all the pain and humiliation she had suffered at the hands of those who were supposed to protect her. "A-And that's not even the worse," she gasped out, her body seeming to seize up at the thought of what she still was holding onto. The dirty feeling of being touched by strangers was nothing compare to the filthy way she felt inside at the fact that her father had gone a step further.

No one said a word, all of them wondering if she was going to continue, but she seemed to remember that there were two boys behind her and while she trusted Danny, she didn't want him to know. She didn't want him to know that she was tainted. Sure, she had known him for little more than a few days, but she didn't want him to look at her like she was just garbage. It was one thing to admit that she had been groped, but molested was a whole other world. Maddie seemed to understand, looking at the two before her with the look that said they needed to leave. Before he left, Danny placed the device on the counter, behind the bowl of fruit. As soon as they were out of earshot the small girl whispered those horrible words. "He-e to-ouched me."

"Your father?" the woman inquired, her eyes narrowing in understanding. She knew why Sam hadn't wanted the males in the room, that the girl before her felt filthy because she had been unable to do anything to fight off the unwanted advances by strangers, only to have her own father disrespect her as well, but when the small girl continued she found herself not only growing more upset, but bile rise in her throat.

"He-e touched me..." she faded off as she looked down, her small hand moving to point to her crotch. "He stuck-k his fingers-s-s..."

"Oh, honey, oh my god," she whispered. Sam broke down harder, still trying to speak as more tears slid down her cheeks, her face flushed, her throat closing and her body still shaking violently.

"He-e even ma-ade me touch-h hi-is.. his-s thing," she hiccupped out. "He-e sai-id it wa-s-s normal, bu-ut it never-r fel-t normal." There was more to the story, Maddie could see it in her eyes, the unguarded truth. Sam may not have liked it, but her body hadn't responded to that disgust. Her body had betrayed her.

"It's not your fault," Maddie said, still stroking the raven locks of the teen in front of her. Sam let out a hiccup. "Even women who have been violated find their body rebelling against how they feel. Your body has no control over what it does in a situation like that." She may not have ever experienced such things, but she had friends who had been in that situation, their body making them feel things that they themselves were fighting to stop. This girl was no different.

"B-But, why?" Sam whimpered, seeming to shrink in size. "I-I don't-t under-derstand."

"I don't know, but you aren't to blame for it. You did all that you were able, and even if you couldn't fight back, you didn't want to do what was forced upon you." Sam nodded. "We can't help how our bodies are wired, even in the darkest situation and no one will look down at you because of it either." After consoling the small girl who was now looking rather peaked after releasing all her pain to the woman before her, Maddie ushered her to the table before getting her a glass of water to drink. "Tomorrow, we will talk to someone that I know that can help. She's a good friend of mine that after going thru a similar situation herself, has become a member of the local DHS." Sam took a sip of the water as another hiccup shook her small form. "She will take pictures of you and take your story so that your parents can never be around you ever again." Sam wasn't sure she could tell it again, that bit of confidence having drained her.

"I-I don't k-know," she murmured.

"I will be there the whole time, so if you need someone to lean on, Sam, I will have your back all the way to the end." The raven haired teen knew this woman wasn't going to throw her to the wolves, but she still felt unsure. "I promise you, Sam, we will do all we can to protect you. You will never have to fear an unwanted touch, to have another person treat you like you are less than the beautiful young woman that you are." Sam nodded. She could do this. She could confront her fears and she could conquer them with Danny and his family by her side.

"O-okay. I-I will-l do it," she said with a soft smile as she took another sip of her water. Maddie smiled as she resumed making their meal for that night. Danny returned to the room in his invisible state, watching the small girl as she took several more drinks of her water. Taking the device, making it invisible too, he left the room.

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Danny and Tucker sat on his bed, the halfa staring at the device with worry and fear. He worried about what it held, but at the same time he feared what it said as well. The look on Sam's face had said it all. She had been afraid to reveal any more to the pair of them, something that spoke volumes as to how uncomfortable she had felt about whatever she was hiding and he had a suspicion that it had to do with what he and Jazz had been talking about that morning. A knock sounded at the door before either could push a button. Tucker wanted to know what had happened and yet he too was afraid to know how bad it had been for the small girl. She had been just as Danny had described her. She was small and skittish, like a newborn kitten finding herself in a new home without the comforts of knowing the people who towered above her.

Hiding the device under the sheets, the boys were surprised to see Jazz in the doorway. She closed the door, locking it before coming to stand before them. "So, you recorded her speaking to mom, didn't you?" She didn't sound upset with them, just curious so they nodded, pulling the device back out to show her. "Have you listened to it yet?" This time they shook their head. She sat down next to Danny, taking the device from his hands before rewinding it to the beginning. Once it clicked she pushed 'play', the sound of Sam crying softly playing in the room.

"My parents, um, well, took me to parties where prospective... " They listened to her talk, some of it having heard for themselves, but then her voice grew even more upset as she continued to speak, words that had been spoken when they had left the room. "He-e to-ouched me." Danny's eyes narrowed. Who had touched the girl? Who had made her sound like she was disgusted with herself. When it was revealed by their mother that it had been the father, Danny felt his body go cold, but her next words made all three of them turn green. "He stuck-k his fingers-s-s..."

"What the fuck?" Tucker growled, though his stomach was turning over at the words, the fear and the disgust in the small teen's voice making him feel violent. Jazz felt the same way, her own stomach rolling around at the images in her mind of what the young female had gone thru. As it continued to play she could see what was happening, her worried gaze on her brother who was now shaking in his anger, the once blue eyes now green as he heard her talk about how her father had not only touched her, but had forced her to reciprocate such things on his own body. His mother's words made him even more angry, not because of what she had said necessarily, but because of how Sam had felt about herself. She was mad at her own body for betraying her, for feeling good when she had felt anything but that way in the moment that she had been violated.

Slamming his fist on the machine to silence it he returned his sister's gaze. "Do you think he raped her?" he asked, his voice harsh. Jazz shook her head.

"With the way she speaks of herself like product, I doubt he would want to give them to another family without her virginity in tact. She would be considered damaged goods." That made him feel better, knowing that her father hadn't done the unthinkable, and yet, he was finding that he wanted to murder the male or worse, tear the male's genitalia off so he would fit the description of how his actions had portrayed him. He wasn't a man! Real men didn't lay fingers on a woman like that, nor did they touch young children, much less their child.

"Where was her mother when this was going on?" Blinking Danny realized that Sam had never spoken of her mother during this act that had been forced upon her, but he had a feeling that she was aware of the whole thing. Tucker looked to Jazz for an answer to his question. "You don't think she knew about it, do you?"

"I think she watched," the red head said with a shudder. Both males shot her a look. "Look at it this way. If her mother is aware of or even a part of the starvation and there when other people touch her child like that in public, it isn't a long shot that she herself allows her husband to," she gestured with a wave of her hand, unable to complete the thought as more images popped into her head. "I would guess that she doesn't participate in it, but is there to make sure he doesn't go too far."

"He already has!" Danny spat. Ice began to form on the bed, Jazz and Tucker jumping off to avoid getting frozen by his powers. "He shouldn't have touched her in that way!" His sister tried to get him to lower his voice, afraid that their parents would hear him or worse, that Sam would know that he knew. "Fuck that shit!" he growled. "They should all find themselves at the mercy of the Warden or even fucking Vlad for the shit they are doing to her!" Jazz could see the malice in his eyes, the flash of green that had tinted his eyes growing brighter before changing to red for a moment.

"Danny, if she hears you then you'd be doing more harm than good," Tucker stated, moving back as more ice moved off the bed and to the floor. "You might scare her away and then they would have her back." Closing his eyes with a sigh, the anger still boiling to a fevered pitch in his blood, he tried to make himself relax, but it wasn't working. He couldn't un-see the look of fear or un-hear the words she had spoken. He could see the image of her father standing over her as she cried out. With a growl of frustration and rage he left the room to head outside. He wanted a ghost to fuck up, to thrash until they were nothing but a stain on the sidewalk. Jazz looked to Tucker with worry.

"I can understand where he is coming from, but damn, I have never seen him that ticked off," she said. Tucker had to agree. His friend had been ticked off in the past, but this shit with Sam was bringing out emotions that were far more volatile then any other he had seen. "Those two should be ashamed of themselves, but they see it as normal since she is nothing more than property to them." The dark skinned male shook his head at that thought. He had heard that rich people were strange, but to think that they thought such thoughts or did such things was sickening to know.

"Dinner!" Maddie called from the other side of the door. The red head wondered how she would explain to her mother what had just transpired in her son's room. She could say that he was off hunting a ghost, but if he was still ticked off when he got back and couldn't hold it in, then their mother would know that he knew what had happened to Sam after she had wanted the male teens to leave them in private. Heading for the door she ushered the techno-geek downstairs with those worries running thru her mind.


	6. Chapter 6

The family sat down at the table, Sam sitting close to Maddie when she noticed that Danny was absent. While Jack failed to notice that his son was missing from the dinner, his mother did, her attention turning to ask her daughter and Tucker where the halfa was. "Danny was in the room with you, was he not?" she inquired. Her daughter nodded, Tucker following suit while stuffing another piece of meatloaf in his mouth. Maddie waited. She knew there was more and when her daughter or even the male at her side failed to answer she prodded further. "Where is he?"

"Off fighting a ghost," Jazz said, though her eyes refused to meet her mother's purple gaze. The red headed adult raised a brow at her answer. She felt that her daughter was hiding something, but noting that the young raven haired female at her side was poking around at her food she decided to wait to get that answer later.

"You okay, Sam?" she asked, the girl jumped slightly, her hand moving the food stopped for a moment before she nodded. "Did you want something else to eat?" Shaking her head she took a bite of some of her mashed potatoes, her stomach growling with impatience. Silence fell over the small group as everyone refused to talk, the tension in the air thick around them. Just when they thought that no one would say a word, the air chilled and Danny appeared from above, taking a seat between Tucker and Sam, the small girl glancing at the male to her side with worry. Maddie took note of this, information that she could investigate later, while noting that her son seemed rather ticked off. He said nothing, taking his fork roughly before digging into his food. Again, there was not a word spoken as the sound of utensils scrapping plates filled the air. As Jack rushed off when his plate was emptied for the second time, Jazz and Tucker taking their own plates to the kitchen, Maddie was left with the two teens, neither of them saying a word and while for Danny that was because he was shoveling food into his mouth, Sam had barely made a dent in her own meal. "Sam, sweetheart, you need to eat."

The girl in question nodded, but made little effort to eat more than a few more bites of her food before shoving it away from her. "I, um, I'm not really all that hungry," she muttered. Danny raised a brow, but not saying a word pushed the food back toward her, repeating what his mother had said and to the shock of both members of the Fenton family the small girl shook her head. "I think I'm not feeling all that great," she said, turning away from Danny, her eyes downcast. "Can I go?" Maddie wanted to push her, since she really did need to eat, but seeing the nervousness of the raven haired teen she nodded, Sam moving quickly to leave the room. As soon as she was gone Danny began to rise from his chair, his plate empty, but his mother reached out and with a firm grasp of his shoulder forced him back into his seat.

"Danny, I can see something is bothering you," she said, pushing her own empty plate to the side as she turned to him. "Is it Sam? Are yo-" Danny growled, his eyes flashing green, but he said nothing. "Danny, you know that she went thru some terrible things at the hands of her parents, but we can't force her to do something she doesn't want."

"It's not that," he muttered, turning to face his mother and in his blue eyes she could see that fire, that anger that was burning in them. When he made no move to explain himself she let out a sigh of resignation. He was a teen, and teens were not known for being anything but moody at that time in their life. She worried that he would keep it all in and for a kid of his age that was normal, but with his powers that would cause more problems and not just for him. "I know what happened." Her red brows rose in shock. "I heard it all."

"How?" she hadn't felt a chill in the air when she had been speaking to the young girl earlier that evening, so he hadn't eavesdropped on their conversation. When he explained it with one word, she felt her heart constrict. Danny was a good kid, very clueless like his father, but still he was a soft soul. He didn't know much about such vulgar actions, save for bullies, but for him to hear about another human treating a child the way that Sam had been... Well, she was sure he was angry. That girl had seemed to find a space in his heart in such a short amount of time, but she herself had felt such a pull from the raven haired teen as well. Not just because of the abuse, but something else seemed to draw her to Sam. For her, it might be her motherly instincts to protect someone who could not protect herself, but for Danny, it was something she couldn't even begin to figure out. "Oh, Danny, you should not have had to hea-"

"And she shouldn't have gone thru it!" he spat, his tone cold, the air seeming to grow colder around them. "I can't even begin to fathom what those bastards were thinking!" Her eyes narrowed at the vulgar language and the tone that her normally kind child was using. She had never heard him speak like this, but then again, he had never had to hear such things.

"Danny, there are sick people out there, you know this." He nodded, his body going lax as he let out a frustrated sigh. "It's not fair that it happens to anyone, let alone a child, but some people never get out of such a situation." He said nothing, his eyes dropping at the thought that Sam would have had to deal with that until her parents sold her off to the highest bidder, possible that she would have had to continue to live like that when she married whomever they had given her to. "She's lucky," his mother said, placing a hand on his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers again. "You found her when she was still young, still able to have a chance at a semi-normal life." She smiled now. "For you to be there, on that day, in a place that I am sure you had never even been before... That was Fate. You were meant to help her and for that, I'm sure she is grateful, but she is also scared. She didn't want anyone to know what was happening to her."

"Why didn't she leave?" he asked. Maddie shook her head.

"She may have tried, we don't know anymore than you do, but if her parents are wealthy then I bet they hold enough influence over others that Sam would never be able to get far from them." Danny seemed to take that information in, twisting around in his mind to examine it from every angle. "Sam might not look it, but I have a feeling that she is stronger than even we know. She might have been beaten into submission, those natural tendencies pushed down to keep her more mailable, but she will eventually find that she can protect herself."

"She won't have to do that," the halfa stated. "I will protect her."

"Oh, hon, she won't have you by her side all the time," Maddie said sadly. "She will ev-"

"No!" he growled. "I will never allow her to be hurt again." The red head knew it was useless to argue with her son when it seemed that he wasn't going to let it go. Not with Sam. She was someone he felt the need to protect and while she was proud of what he had done for the small female, she knew he would find out that Sam would leave them at some point, move on and live her life. He got up, stomping off as his mother watched him go with sadness in her purple orbs.

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Danny headed for his room, sure that the raven haired teen was there, probably sleeping, but when he entered his room he found that she wasn't there. The room was empty, the ice from his earlier outburst still clinging to the sheets of his bed, and with worry clenching his heart he rushed out, looking in the bathroom and the closet that she had been in earlier only to come up empty handed. Where had the Goth gone? She hadn't left the house, had she? That's when he heard voices coming from down the hall, his sister's door closed to her room. Heading toward them he could hear Tucker now, the male's voice low as he spoke.

"So, what are you going to do?" he asked. Jazz could be heard speaking, though it was the sound of Sam's voice that made the halfa move to open the door. In the room three pairs of eyes turned to meet his blue gaze. Jazz and Tucker were sitting on the end of the bed while Sam was leaning against the headboard, her legs pulled up close to her chest as she stared back at him. Her eyes were wide, fear and uncertainty reflecting in the amethyst orbs. She looked away from him as he entered the room, the teal walls filled with posters about science and quotes from books, but what he noticed was that the small Goth was clutching Bearbert, the small toy worn out from when Jazz had been smaller. He had been stitched up several times over the years, and his little white coat still had stains that would never be removed no matter how many times he was washed.

"Hey," he said, moving to sit next to her. She didn't look at him, her small fingers playing with the bear's grey mustache. "You okay?" She nodded, her fingers still moving as she clutched the small toy. "You didn't eat much."

"My stomach hurt," she murmured. When silence filled the room again, Danny unable to think of anything to say and the other two seeming at a loss for words, Sam continued. "Jazz said that is normal when you don't eat much. It can make you sick to overstuff yourself to make up... for that." She seemed embarrassed again, like not eating had been her fault.

"That's okay. You'll be able to eat more when your body gets used to it." She looked at him now, his demeanor seeming more relaxed then it had been earlier. He was still upset, but something told him that she was feeling his mood and had withdrawn because of it.

"Danny's right. It will take a while, but you will be able to enjoy eating normal when your body gets used to larger portions." The raven haired girl nodded. Tucker stood up at that moment, the bed shifting with the movement. He informed them that he had to leave, his parents would be worried if he stayed out too late, but that he would see them tomorrow. With him gone the siblings were left alone with the Goth. No one said a word, the siblings unsure of what more they could say until Danny finally spoke up.

"Are you ready to sleep?" he asked, the small girl shaking her head just as a yawn broke out from her lips. He smiled, the girl flushing. "Are you sure?"

"Um, your bed... it has ice on it," she said softly. Blinking he realized why she didn't want to go to bed. His bed wasn't usable at the moment. "Why did.. I mean..." He got what she was asking and found that he was embarrassed about what he had done in his anger.

"My powers are," he said, his hand falling to the back of his head with a blush. "They are connected to my emotions and well, I got a little upset." It was out there, the reason for the burst of his powers in his room, but not the full reason either. Her mouth formed a little 'o' at his explanation. "I can fix that and then we can go to sleep." She nodded and Danny headed off to do just that, unaware that she was questioning why he was upset. Once he was gone she turned to Jazz, those questions in her amethyst orbs.

"Did.. um, is he mad at me?" she whispered, clutching the bear harder. The red head looked at her in shock.

"No, he's not mad at you, Sam. He's just upset at what happened in your home." Sam seemed unsure at her response. "He's a good kid, but unlike me, he doesn't know much about that kind of thing. For him to find out that parents are abusing their kid with starvation or violence, well, that upset him."

"But, your mother said that kind of thing happens to lots of people," the girl whispered, her gaze flickering over to the door, as if to make sure that Danny didn't come back just yet. She didn't know why, but he made her nervous. It wasn't a bad nervous feeling like when her own parents came to call on her, but she felt so worried about his feelings for her. "He doesn't even know me." Jazz smiled.

"I don't know what to tell you, but for some reason he seems..." she faded off, truly at a loss for words to explain her brother's extra protective behavior. "I don't know. Maybe it's because you are his age or maybe it has to do with his status as a protector of the town." She shrugged. She didn't think it had to do with either reason she had listed, but then again, she felt that it was a connection between the pair that neither seemed to see. Danny chose that moment to come back, a smile on his face as he told her that the bed was usable again. She crawled off of Jazz's bed, Bearbert still held tightly in her fingers. Looking down at the toy she went to lay it on the bed when the red head stated, "You can hold onto him, Sam."

She went to protest that it wasn't hers, but Danny's sister shook her head and with a smile the Goth headed off to bed. The halfa threw his sister an appreciative smile before following Sam back to his room.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning as Danny headed off to school he wondered what would happen with the small girl while he was gone. Sam hadn't been as attached to him as she had been the day prior, almost as if she were unsure of him now. She wasn't scared of him, that had been quite certain as she had curled up close to him in the bed last night, but she had been different when she had looked at him that morning. The Goth had had a look in her eyes, as if she were examining him with her large amethyst eyes while he grabbed clothing for that morning. He was sure that after he had left the room last night to clear away the ice that something had been said to Jazz by the raven haired teen, but when he had asked his sister at breakfast she had blown it off, stating that Sam had only spoken about nothing major.

Truthfully it had been pretty big in her eyes, but had been afraid of how Danny would feel knowing that the Goth had thought she had done something to upset her brother. Instead she had just told him to watch how he reacted around the small female. Knowing that his mother would take care of the small girl he shook his head to clear away the worries, though they never went far when it concerned Sam. She had become someone very important to him in a matter of days, no, more of when he had first laid eyes on her. Before her entrance in his life he had been rather attracted to Paulina, a very popular girl in his school, but once he had seen Sam he had almost forgot the Latina that he had a crush on. He still liked her, but for some reason Sam seemed to find her way into his thoughts.

Looking up he noted that Tucker was waiting for him just down the street with said female standing close to him. They seemed to be talking about something, the dark skinned male nodding at whatever the female teen said. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but once he got closer she seemed to forget that Tucker was there as her teal eyes lit up upon seeing him.

"Hi Danny!" she cried out with a smile, his friend shrugging his shoulders at the confusion on the halfa's face. She immediately clung to him, her eyes bright as she dragged him with her towards their school. He found himself forgetting the small girl in his home as the most popular girl in school talked about how she hadn't seen him in forever and that they should hang out more, while Tucker just shook his head. He had a feeling that Paulina had realized that the halfa wasn't drooling over her as he had in the past and wanted to keep all her little puppies on a leash. While he himself had thought the girls at his school were pretty, he didn't really hang too close to the popular ones since they were rather harsh to him. He didn't understand the urge to be used by someone who would just kick him to the sidelines when you couldn't give them what you commanded of them. In short... he was not a big fan of the girl dragging his friend away.

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Jeremy walked into the kitchen, unaware that days before when he had had Sam thrust into the hole that she was no longer in there, his eyes narrowing on the small hidden door. She hadn't made a sound according to his servants and while his wife had gone out to shop he had decided to check on the small Goth. Calling one of his male servants to his side he issued his orders, telling the male to bring his daughter to the living room before heading out. The servant nodded, moving to do just that, a small key pulled from a rack close to where the girl had been kept. Unlocking it, he had expected to find the raven haired child passed out from days without food, but what he had found was an empty space instead. His brown eyes grew wide, fear flickering in the depths.

What would he tell his master? The man would surely beat him for the disappearance of the girl and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of that tirade. Still, he had no choice since his master would be waiting for him so with a sigh he headed into the living room where Jeremy sat in his recliner. His eyes were closed, his head tipped back as he enjoyed a glass of brandy, the small glass in his fingers. He looked relaxed at the moment, but when the blond haired male grew irate, he was like a bomb and destruction would be all that was left in his wake.

"Um, sir," he said, his voice shaking slightly as the eyes of his master opened slightly, the blue turning to ice when he noticed that the man before him was alone.

"Where is the girl?" he asked, his hand tightening slightly on his glass. "I do not care if she is passed out or unable to get in here. Drag her by her hair, but bring me my daughter!" he bellowed, the male before him shaking, but not moving to do as he asked. Jeremy emptied his drink down his throat before throwing the empty container at the cowering male. "Do you have a hearing problem?!"

"S-She is-s..." he managed, his throat closing up at the malice in the blue eyes of his master. "She is gone, sir." He backed away after relaying that bit of information, the male before him blinking at those words, as if they were so hard to swallow, before asking him to repeat himself. "She is no-ot in the hole, sir."

"WHAT?!" he raged, his voice shaking the very foundation of the large home. "HOW DID SHE GET OUT?!" The servant shook his head, still shaking at the sight of his master standing up, his face red and a vein bulging on his right temple. The door to the home opened, a very perplexed red head entering the home. She had just been pulling up when she had heard her husband yelling and when she came into the room, his blue eyes turned to her. She nearly took a step back at the murder she could see in those blue depths.

"What on Earth has you so upset?" she managed to ask, his form so straight that she was sure he would break in half.

"What is wrong?! WHAT IS WRONG?!" he yelled, her eyes growing wide. "Your fucking brat has escaped from her damn hole!" She opened her mouth, but closed it promptly when her husband turned his attentions on the male before him. He said nothing, his body rigid as he glared at the servant before all hell broke loose. Taking a small desk lamp from the table next to him he went after the servant, knocking the male out with a single blow before bashing his head in with the damaged light fixture. Pamela took a step back from her husband. She couldn't understand. Sam had gone missing before and they always found her rather quickly. The small girl never got far, not with the little they fed her and the simple fact that she could not have left the grounds. The house was locked with a key that only she and her husband had on them, the wall outside too high to climb up and with sharp stones littered in it to keep her from even wanting to go that way.

He turned on her now, his clothing stained with blood as he stood with his back to the most certainty dead servant. "Clean that shit up or so help me, Pamela, I will leave you in that same state!" He stomped off, his phone to his ear as he barked off terse orders to the person on the other side. His wife shuddered at the chill that crept over her body as he passed. She looked over at the male, hoping that he wasn't dead, though he would be better off dead if Jeremy didn't want anyone to blab and this male would probably do just that. It was one thing to pay off your help to turn the other head with punishing your child so harshly, but another to try and kill the person holding that secret. Sighing she called several servants to take care of the prone form. She needed to find her daughter or there would be hell to pay, but first she needed to find out how the small girl had managed to escape.

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Said girl was currently sitting in the Fenton's living room, huddled on the couch in black jeans and a long sleeved lavender top. She was waiting for this friend of Maddie, the one that would help keep her from having to go back to her house. She shuddered at that thought. Surely her parents had realized that she was gone. It had been days and while they were never ones to check on her, they would come to collect her from the hole as they would need to give her something to eat before they took her out for another showing. She was the way they would get more money, her husband to be being the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the pair. They were wealthy, but even that would run out one day. She wondered how long it would be before they located her and while she knew they would, she doubted that they would look for her here.

The Fenton's themselves were wealthy, something she couldn't figure out since they didn't live all that lavishly, but she knew they had to have money with all the inventions she had seen down in the lab. She had only gone there once, when everyone in the home had been asleep and she had been unable to sleep. It had been last night that she had crept around, more of ensuring that her new sanctuary was safe, and had found the lab. The large door in that room had drawn her, called her, and she had almost reached out to touch the button on the right side of that large door, but thinking twice about what was behind that door she had stopped. After alleviating her fears, as the family she was with had everything on lockdown, she had crept back to Danny's room and had fallen asleep. Now she sat, listening for the door, wondering when she would have to talk about what had transpired in her parent's house and at their hands. Maddie had made sure that her friend would be there after Danny had gone to school, the Goth distancing herself and her emotions from the boy who had saved her. After all, when this person came then so would the fact that she would have to leave.

She worried that he would be caught in the crossfire that was sure to start when all of the abuse was out in the open and after how upset he had been when she had asked for him to leave so she could bare her darkest secret, she knew he would hate her even more for that secret. While his mother had assured her such feelings during such a revolting act were natural, she still felt that the halfa would look at her with disgust for allowing those things to happen and for her body to like them. The doorbell rang loudly around her and with a slight jump, her heart pounding roughly in her chest, she moved to make a run for it. She couldn't do it! She was afraid that the woman would take her back to her parents! As she turned the corner to run upstairs she ran into a wall, well, a human wall. She didn't fall though, arms came around her and she looked up to find Jack's blue gaze.

While other males touching her put her at unease, disgust rising in her stomach, she found that this man in front of her didn't really bother her. It was strange. He was a strange male, like those at those parties, but he never touched her inappropriately. The first time that she had met him she had seen the sadness in his eyes. It was like he could read her and while she could see that he was rather clueless in other aspects, she felt that he would protect her as the rest of his family would. Even now, he kept his hands on her arms as he looked down at her. "Hey, kiddo," he said with a smile. "Trying to run from the fear?" She thought about lying, but judging by those blue eyes looking at her she knew it would be futile and nodded.

He crouched down to her level, his hands still on her upper arms loosely. "You could run, but what good would it do when you know that they only way you can keep yourself safe is to tell your story?" She hadn't really thought about it like that, but then again, she wasn't sure she could be saved even if she told it. "You're not the only one afraid of someone hurting them, someone that should be standing there defending you. When you speak, it's not just your voice, but those who can't speak because they no longer have a voice or even those who are still in that position that you were once in that are afraid of letting the world see the darkness of those moments." She blinked. She was speaking for others by telling her side of the story? Sure, she knew from what Maddie had told her that there were others out there in the shadows enduring such violence as rape, but to think that another child like her was held in the claws of their family enduring such vulgarity?

"Okay," she said softly. He smiled broader.

"We know that it is scary for you, but if anything were to happen to you we would grieve it." At her confusion he explained. "You may be a stranger to us, but all of us feel like you are part of our family, another child for me and my wife. We feel a connection to you and Danny, he seems to feel the strongest or he wouldn't have done something as illegal as break into your home." She felt the burn of tears at that thought. Yes, the halfa had really put his neck out for her. He had come to her aid when she had been nothing more than another child to him and then his family, his family had opened their arms and home to her with no other expectation of her. Would she repay their love with running away from what she knew needed to be done? She had never had one person on her side, ever, and now she had five people willing to go to bat for her.

She turned from him and with him behind her she headed back into the living room where a pale looking woman sat with Maddie. The woman turned her grey blue eyes on her, the kindness that shone in those eyes drew her closer, though she didn't sit next to the woman, but went over to sit next to Maddie. The woman leaned forward, her long dark brown hair moving forward and over her shoulder. "Hi, Sam, my name is Rose Finch." Sam nodded from the other side of the red headed woman at her side, Maddie placing her arm around the small raven haired girl. "I know that you are afraid, I can relate. I too was once a child that was in your position, though I was abused by my adopted father, a man who was my uncle." She looked sad now. "I allowed it to go on for too long, afraid that if I said anything that not only would I not be believed because of my background, but because my younger sister who lived with us might be left in their hands."

"Your sister was being abused?" Sam asked. Rose shook her head.

"No, just me, but I felt that if I left that home that he might turn his attentions on her. She was a beautiful child, just a year younger than me with much better assets than I had, but she was safe and I felt that it was because I was the shy one and less likely to fight, you know?" The raven haired girl nodded. She could see that. She had been quiet when the abuse had been happening too. Even when she had gotten out she had never said a word. "My uncle claimed that he was just teaching me the right and wrong touches, that I should avoid them if I felt weird even as he did the same thing. I tried to pretend to be asleep on a few occasions, but that never stopped him." Sam wondered if Rose had ever felt the way she had with those very touches on her own body and it was as if the woman before her could read her. "I didn't know what to think at first, maybe that it was a normal way to show love and I allowed it, but then I can to realize that I didn't like it. My body liked it and when I finally got out of that household, more like thrown out, I let it rule me. I allowed others to take advantage of that idea in my head that I was unlovable. I found myself doing drugs at the age of eighteen, letting men take my body since I couldn't even feel anything from the act itself."

"Really?" the Goth asked, leaning forward a bit, her body relaxing as she listened.

"I never thought that anyone could love someone that was as fucked in the head as I was, but then I was raped by a stranger that I had let take me home with him for drinks. It was a wake up call that I was going down a dark road that wouldn't end with sunshine and butterflies." Sam continued to listen to the story, her own life playing before her eyes, the worries and fears of what she would become. "Lucky for me I did end up meeting the most amazing guy. He didn't see that ugliness that I saw in myself. He wanted to murder my uncle and rip my aunt who had allowed it to happen as well." She smiled now. "I now have two children that I would never allow such darkness to touch and a husband who shows me every day how much he loves me." The raven haired girl was shocked. This woman who had gone thru the same darkness as she herself had gone thru was able to find someone to love her no matter how broken she had become. "Do you want to tell me your darkness? We can all help to lighten that load and lead you on a better, safer path to your own happiness." Sam nodded, looking to Maddie and then to Jack as the pair smiled at her.

"My parents abuse me by starving me when I don't do what they want..." That became the second step toward getting away from her home and all thanks to Danny coming to her aid that night. Coming into her life and freeing her from the bonds that held her, but she still had more steps to take to further free herself from that darkness and with all of them at her side she could see that happening.


	8. Chapter 8

When Danny came home later that day, his eyes still dazed and his mind on the fact that the most popular girl had hung out with him all day, he failed to notice how quiet his house was. His parents, who were usually in the lab making noise as they worked on another invention, were quiet and his sister, though not as loud as her parents wasn't in her room when he passed by to head to his own room. It took him flopping on his bed, his phone ringing in his pocket, for him to become aware that he was the only one in the house. Grabbing his phone he found his sister on the other end, her voice high pitched and upset.

"Okay, okay, Jazz, you aren't making any sense," the halfa said, waiting for his sister to take a breath before she spoke again, the words causing him to drop the phone in shock. Even as she called his name from the other end, the raven haired male found himself in shock. Sam had been taken from their home, his mother's friend worried that her being in their home would only cause her to be unsafe. Maddie's friend knew about the Mansons, Sam's parents, and knew that the father was on record as being very violent due to the family members' of his staff. They had been investigating a few missing members of said staff, ones that just disappeared from the face of the Earth, leaving their own family without a warning or reason. Snatching the phone from the floor he inquired as to where they were and once he had that information he was off again.

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The Goth was currently in a hotel room, two police officers placed at the door of her room while she lay curled up on the bed. She had known this would be the wrong move, but she had trusted the Fentons and now she had been taken from them and placed alone in a new setting. While she felt alone at the moment, she knew that Maddie and Jack had been upset with her being whisked away from them, the pair of ghost fighters pleading with the woman, Rose, against taking her from them. The raven haired girl shivered as she recalled how quickly it had all happened and while she knew that it had been done for good reason, at least as far as they felt, she had not been given this reason.

Rose had seemed to know about her parents, though had not been aware that they had had a child. Sam found that strange, since she was sure that the police knew about her as they always took her home when she had run as a child. The small teen began to wonder how bad it had been for them to take her into protective custody... What had her parents done to warrant the fear that she had seen when the brunette had pulled up her information upon hearing her last name. Sam wanted to go back home, to the Fenton's house. She didn't want to be alone in this hotel room, unsure of what they were going to do with her afterward... if they weren't going to take her back to her home then where would she go? Feeling drained from all the emotions warring in her heart and the thoughts in her head the small raven haired female found herself yawning as her eyes closed.

Where was Danny and how would he react knowing that she wasn't in his home anymore... that she wasn't safe in his home when he was the one that had saved her? Those were the last thoughts as the darkness took over her consciousness, the nightmares that had plagued her all her life coming back in full force under the fear she felt in this unfamiliar place.

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Danny was currently in the office of one Rose Finch, the woman that worked for the DHS and the woman who had removed Sam from their home. Glaring at the closed door he turned to sit down, his sister coming from the hallway as their parents talked with Rose. She sat down next to him, her eyes red from crying, and her demeanor drooping slightly. "What is the full story?" the halfa asked, his anger making him tense as he sat there.

"Apparently the DHS was not aware that the Manson's had a child, her birth not on record at any hospital in the city," the red head stated. "They had been monitoring the couple after several workers failed to come home from work. When those families came to call upon the Mansons with questions about their loved ones, the pair denied ever hiring anyone by those names and with no record of them working for them there wasn't much to go on."

"So, no bodies either?" the raven haired teen inquired.

"No, they never got to check though either." Danny raised a brow at this. "They are wealthy, having the best lawyers to keep the authorities at bay, and then there might be some that are paid handsomely to keep their mouths shut." The halfa was finding himself growing hot under the collar with every bit of new information released. "Sam, herself, was never allowed out of their sight, even though according to Rose, there wasn't any report of her running away so there's no telling how much information is missing."

"What about the employees working there now?" Jazz shook her head.

"None of them will talk, not even when confronted at their home about the inner workings of that family." The pair of siblings sat silently for a moment, both of them wondering how much Sam knew about what happened in that house and how much more evil was still in the shadows. They would have to wait until their parents came out before they would learn more. Jazz didn't have any information on what would happen to Sam or even where the small teen was. They had only seen her taken away, the small girl fighting against her police escort, though the red head was afraid to tell her brother how afraid the small Goth had been and that she had been crying for the one that hadn't come home on time to see her taken from them. "Why were you late from school anyway?"

"I was..." he faded off, wondering why his sister wanted to know that bit of information. He had been under the assumption that Sam had been taken from the home hours before he had gotten free of school. "Talking to a girl." His sister raised her brows at him, surprised that he had been hanging out with a girl when her brother had never been popular with the fair sex, not with how he was labeled as a freak among their peers. "Why does it matter what I was doing?" He felt bad to know that he had even forgotten the raven haired girl upon Paulina pulling him close.

"Just wondering," she said, but before he could push her their parents came out of the room, his mother looking tired and sad, while his father looked angry.

"She would be better off with us," Jack said with a frown. "Our house is guarded from human and ghost alike." Rose, her eyes sad, just shook her head.

"You can petition to be her foster family," she said, shoving a pile of papers into Maddie's hands. "I will back you on this since I agree, but with the circumstances being as they are I have to follow the guidelines." She looked around, noting that only their kids were in the room, her secretary off taking care of some business. "Especially with the most recent disappearance of another one of their employees." The pair of ghost fighters looked surprised at this bit of information, worry in his mother's purple gaze. "The male disappeared just this afternoon, well, he was reported this afternoon when his pregnant wife received no call from him as he usually did to check up on her." Danny leaned forward, his eyes growing wide at this information. Was it because Sam had gone missing? Had taking her out of that home caused another to lose their life? If it were true that others had gone missing then her being missing wasn't the only thing causing such violence to become norm in the home. He then began to wonder how bad Sam would have had it had she still been at the home, not that the things she had endured were small, but she could have been dead at the hands of her father.

"Thank you, Rose," Maddie said, turning from her friend to find her son glaring, his eyes flashing green as he stared off into space. Moving before him, she crouched down. "Danny?" He blinked, his blue eyes returning even as he continued to glare. "It'll be okay."

"No," he grumbled. "I told her that she would be safe at our home and now she's somewhere out there, a sitting duck for those monsters to find her again!" Maddie shook her head, showing him the papers and explaining what they would do. He seemed to relax, but his body was still slightly tense even if he was no longer glaring. "Where is she?"

"They can't tell us that information, for our protection and Sam's." The halfa wanted to fight her on that, that Sam was safer in their home with all of them being fighters, but he was stopped as his mother further explained all that Rose had filled them in on with the house that the Goth had come from. So much missing information on that family, the things that they had done and now that Sam had revealed what they had been doing there was more that the police could do. They could get a warrant to search the home and hopefully find out if the missing workers were still alive or even if there were bodies to give the mourning families of those same people. He didn't care about that though, his worry for the one person who had been spared from death at their hands, but had gone thru so much already and he didn't even know all the details...

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Pamela had steered clear of her husband after cleaning up his mess. The male in question had left the house, his anger still brewing long into the next day when he was back in his home with a drink. She noted that he smelled of cigar smoke and perfume, not the good kind either. She was aware of what he had been doing, as he strayed from her side from time to time, but she didn't really care. She had her own man on the side and while neither had married for love, they kept their affairs close to their chest. They knew, but no one else needed to know that they weren't the big happy family. Sam had been conceived that way, since her husband was sterile and also a violent lover as he was a harsh man, but her parents had made their match and she had had no say in that either.

She wasn't a warm person either, having been raised similarly to her own daughter. She had been beaten when she failed to live up to her parents' strict rules, though she had never been sexually abused like her daughter had, she had been verbally and mentally abused to the point that she really didn't care about the wellbeing of her only child. Jeremy stormed into their room, his eyes landing on his wife who shrank back at his angry gaze.

"It was your fault that she escaped!" he bellowed, the glass in hand shuddering with the force he was exerting on the container. "You should have checked on her or maybe you even let her out!" Her teal eyes widened at the words coming from his mouth, the accusations that made no sense. They had never checked upon the raven haired girl when she was thrown in that room, nor had she let the girl out. She wouldn't have done that with the fact that her husband would have beaten her and she didn't care what happened to her child. She had not wanted any children in the marriage, but when it came out that if they didn't have an heir to give the fortune to that her grandmother would have cut them out of the will, giving the money to a charity instead, the pair had done what they could to ensure that the money stayed with them. Though the older woman had died just after Samantha had been born, they were in the clear with giving birth to an heir, but then they had been stuck with the child.

"I woul-" SMACK! The red headed woman was thrown back, a large handprint left on her cheek from his assault. That had been the other reason she had never let the child out of the house. She didn't want to endure the beatings that she had not had to take once their child had been old enough. No, Jeremy had taken his anger out on the girl, and in more ways than one since he couldn't leave a mark on her that could be seen. There were bruises under her clothing and then she realized. That whoever was hiding their daughter had to have seen those marks and had taken her to the DHS. Before he could strike her again, she relayed her thoughts to the male towering over her.

His anger dissipated with that knowledge that his wife was right. There was no way that his child wasn't in the care of the law and he knew someone who could get him that info. Throwing back his drink he hocked the glass at his wife, the container smashing against her head and knocking her out. "Hey, get me the information concerning children brought into your care in the last few days," he said, a smirk curling his lips at the thought that the woman on the other end of the phone would do just that. It didn't take long for her to have the details concerning where his daughter was and who had brought her in. "Good. Now to just wait for her to fall right into my lap." Pocketing his phone he walked off, his wife still laying prone on the floor. All he cared about now was getting the small raven haired teen back under his roof. After that was done he had a plan in the works to remove himself and her from the area, his wife left out of this plan.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam walked down the street, her eyes wide as she took in all the world around her. It was despair that clogged her throat as she walked by body after body, their blood coating her bare feet. It was sticky and slippery, but she found that she couldn't stop moving. The bodies were of her mother, her mouth open in a scream that never seemed to escape while past her was Rose, the woman who had connected with her with her own past, her body laying facedown in a pool of blood. Just down from her was Tucker, the dark skinned male pale with death, his own mouth closed, but his eyes wide in fear. Shuddering she moved past him too.

"What is happening?" she asked the dark space, the city disappearing as she continued down the path, her eyes growing wider when she saw Jazz laying there, her body face down in a pool of her own blood. Sam had a feeling that she knew where this was going... and she felt her body shudder as fear and sadness trickled over her body. She wanted to stop, but even as she tried to freeze in place she found that body wasn't listening as she came upon Jack and Maddie, the couple clinging to each other, their eyes closed tightly. "No," she muttered, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "No!" she cried out, the shape of someone else waiting for her in the distance. "No! No! No!" she screamed, her body going cold at the knowledge of who was left there at the end of all the carnage, but when she came upon the body, the raven hair of the male faced down, she knew that it was Danny.

Laughter, evil in tone, echoed around her, but she paid it no heed as she dropped to her knees at the sight of her savior. He had rescued her and what had she paid him with? Death! She had killed him because she had allowed him to take her from her parents, from her father. "That's right, child," came her father's voice from behind Danny's body. "You have doomed them all with your weakness, the fact that you were too weak to endure what life had planned for you...what I had planned for you." She felt her body buckle, tears streaming down her face, but these tears, though warm, were too thick to be tears. Reaching up she found her hands covered in blood. Screaming she fell back on her butt, her vision going red as Danny turned to her, the halfa whispering out one word. A name.

"Sam."

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The Goth flew up from the bed, her body slick with sweat as she looked around the room unseeing anything, but the blood and the body of Danny laying before her. "No, not Danny," she whispered harshly. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening to reveal a brunette, the blue eyes of this female cold and uncaring. Sam sat up straighter, moving her body backward to lean against the bed post. "Who a-are you?" The woman smiled, her eyes still cold, but her face revealing worry.

"My name is Allyson," the woman said. "I was sent to pick you up." Amethyst eyes narrowed at the woman. Where was Rose? What about the police officers that had been outside her door? The brunette walked toward her, her heels silent on the carpeted floor. "I work with DHS," she said, pulling out a badge, her name and face on the laminated item. Sam still didn't trust the lady, but before she could say anything more the woman was on her, a needle in hand, the tip of it twinkling in the light from the hallway. The Goth looked over her shoulder to see blood on the floor of the hallway, some of it leaking into the room. That was the last thing she saw as Allyson managed to shove the needle into her leg, the prick of pain the last feeling as it all went dark for her.

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In another part of the city, another brunette was finding her life fading, her blue eyes watching the man above her, his own blue eyes flashing in pleasure. The knife in her back was twisted by this man as he towered over her, but she refused to cry out, her last thoughts of her husband and her children. Mouthing 'I love you' to their faces, she slumped down, her face falling into the puddle of blood with a soft splat. Turning from her the male chuckled, his body becoming one with the shadows that danced in the room attached to her office. Stifling a groan she moved her fingers across the blood, using the last of her strength to write out his name, her dying message to lead them to her killer.

As her body let out one last breath, the rattle one that announced her death, she managed to cover what she had done. Should the killer come back then they would have no clue of the finger she had pointed at them. Luckily for her this male was cocky and once he left he never returned to check on her. Her eyes clouded over with death.

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The next morning the sound of the phone broke the silence of Fenton Works, a red headed woman groaning as she turned over on her side to note the time on the clock. It was just past five in the morning, and blinking awake she reached for the phone as her husband shifted next to her with a slight groan to being woken up so early. He opened one eye as his wife said, "Hello." Someone spoke on the other side, the woman on the bed moving to sit up, her body tense. The raven haired bulk of a man moved to sit up, his wife's eyes widening in surprise, tears sheening over the orbs of purple. "What?" she asked, sadness and shock intermingling in her tone. "When?" More talking, his hand reaching up to touch her shoulder. The woman before him jumped slightly before hanging up the phone. The sound of it clicking on the base as her body sagged.

"Maddie?" her husband whispered, his hand tightening on her shoulder as it began to shake. "What's wrong?" Maddie turned to her husband, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Rose." He tilted his head in question. "She was found this morning at four by the early morning cleaning staff... dead..." her voice growing softer with each word that left her mouth. "Someone killed her." Jack looked surprised at this information. The woman in question had been found when they had left her office earlier, ready to assist them in fostering the small raven girl that had become like a member of the family in only days.

"What? Who would kill her?" The red head sighed, her body shuddering at what she had been told, though only a few things about the scene in which her friend had been found dead.

"They didn't tell me all of it, just that she was found in her office, a knife in her back." The pair shared a look. What was going on here? Who would have killed the DHS worker and why? "You don't think it was Jeremy?" He looked thoughtful, his own knowledge on the male limited like his wife's. No one knew much about the male and even with him being under investigation for a string of missing people, they didn't know him enough to answer that question.

"I can't answer that, but I have a feeling that it might be connected," the dark haired ghost fighter stated. "After all, he seems like the epitome of evil with how Sam was treated by him." Maddie nodded, though she was beginning to wonder how far the male that had fathered the Goth would go to get his child back...

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A few hours later as Jazz and Danny were getting ready for school, the halfa almost refusing to go with Sam missing from the home and no information to go on about her current situation. He still felt that she would have been better off in their care. He was a halfa and with that extra power of being a ghost he felt that he could do much better than any human in protecting the raven haired girl. Jazz wasn't in any mood to deal with school either, her own mind on the small girl as well. As they only had another hour before they had to leave, the red headed teen moved to turn on the news, the picture flickering on screen one of a familiar house. Jazz had never seen it, but Danny, who had been walking by, recognized that residence.

"Turn that up!" he commanded, rushing to the couch, standing behind it as Jazz did as he demanded, though she threw him a look of curiosity.

"This is the scene that even officers find themselves dreading," the newswoman stated, even finding it hard to hold her face straight as officers work behind her to load what appears to be a body in a black bag in the back of an ambulance. "The house of one of the wealthy men of our city, Jeremy Manson, is filled with death, the freshest body that of his wife." Jazz's eyes grew large, both of their parents coming into the room upon hearing the blast of the newswoman. Behind her another body is wheeled away as Jeremy's face is shown on the screen proceeded by a picture of his late wife. "The male in question is wanted by the police, his name left at the scene of another death. More bodies are being dug up in his backyard, those people are waiting to be identified, but it is speculated that these are the missing workers from several years worth of disappearances. The first missing person going back about fifteen years."

The rest of it was lost on the four people in the room, Jack glaring at the man on the screen looking back at them. Maddie's hands were over her mouth, Jazz was just staring at the screen in horror while Danny found himself following his father's gaze, his own anger flashing thru his eyes as they glowed bright green.

"At this moment there is a man hunt for the wealthy male, his only child thought to be in his custody after disappearing from the safe house she was being kept in. If you come across this male, do not approach him. Call the police. Again, this man has a dangerous temper and is very dangerous. Please stay safe if he comes into your line of sight and call the police at 555-4357. That number again is 555-HELP." No one said a word, all of them frozen with the thought that the male that had not only killed several people, his wife, and the friend of Maddie, was now in possession of the girl that had been his goal, the small girl left alone with a monster. Danny was the first to move, his body changing on whim as he headed off to find the one person who could help him locate the Goth while his family rushed out the door to cram into the Fenton RV. They had one thought at the moment. They needed to save Sam!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning, more vile things coming so if you can't stomach it then plz do not read this chapter....

Jeremy glared down at the unconscious female, his child looking pale under the bright lights. Seems that whoever, well he knew who had, had saved her had bought the girl new clothing, the outfit covering her entire form. He wanted to see her body, the feel of it pulling at him. Most would call him sick, and while he would argue that she wasn't his blood so it didn't matter, the male was a pedophile. He liked them young, still pert and taunt, though he would prefer to to be just a few years older he was quite happy molding her into the perfect sex slave.

It had been the plan for a while now, since she had started to bloom at the age of ten, to do away with his aging wife and having the small girl bear him children. He couldn't have children, not the normal way, but he had once be fertile. He had made sure to freeze some of his semen when he had been younger. His parents hadn't been the wiser to his little side plan. He had not been all that attracted to his wife, her red hair too bright and close to his own color. Her eyes were also too close to his own blue orbs and that had also been to his dislike. No, his tastes, like his own soul, were drawn toward the dark side. He wanted a woman that had a dark head of hair, whose eyes would stand out against his own. He wanted to have something out of the ordinary that would make him the envy of all the men. A rarity that he thought he would have with her wife when he had seen pictures of her family, most of them dark headed, though only a few shared the amethyst orbs. The last one had been her grandmother, the gene for her eye color so random that he hadn't been able to pinpoint when it would come.

No, Fate had given him Pamela, an normal woman with an old name. No matter, he was planning on having her get pregnant by another and another until a child was produced with her grandmother's coloring or with his own genes. His mind was insane with all the dark thoughts that screamed in his skull. A groan from the teen before him drew his attention, a smirk twisting his lips in a cruel smile of sorts. "So, my wife's spawn has awoken." As soon as his voice penetrated her dazed thoughts, the drug used on her making her feel like she wasn't in her body, that she was floating and paralyzed at the same time, her eyes shot up to look at him. A whimper tried to escape, the fear of what he was planning to do with her wracking her body with shudders. "Ah, so you do remember what I do when you disobey," he said, leaning down to her level, the raven haired teen backing up in fear. Each move made her feel heavy, like she was freezing up... a tinman with no oil to keep it moveable.

"N-No," she whispered, the feeling of her own body no longer feeling foreign to her weight. She felt her body slump a bit, her body still awake but unable to fight back.

"Don't worry, Samantha, you will enjoy it," he husked, his hand moving to touch her cheek. The heat of his body made her shudder, her body warming. There was a slight tingle, a tingle that felt good even as her stomach rolled. He noticed that she was looking a little green, his blue eyes narrowing as they flashed. Pulling back he struck her, the back of his hand landing with a resounding 'smack'. She fell over, blood leaking from her mouth, her head hitting the ground hard. "I can wait," was all he said before stepping away, "But know this, bitch, that I will make you scream in pain for each extra minute you make me wait." The Goth shuddered, her body growing warmer even as she tried to will it to stop. This wasn't what he normally did when he punished her with his vile touches and that made her realize early on that this was going further than touching her with his hands. No, the man that was her father was intent on getting her under him and doing what he wanted with her body. She didn't want that, never wanted to give up the freedom to choose who would be allowed to touch her.

The Fentons had given that choice back to her and she knew that she would do whatever her father wanted if that meant they were safe. Jeremy walked over to her, his glare taking in the tensed pose of her body. He could see the fight in her eyes, a look he had never seen on the girl before him. Even when she had been against what he was doing to her or even when she ran away, she had never looked like this... Strong. It was then that she realized something he had said, and with a thought that might keep him occupied she decided to ask. "Why did you call me that?" He raised a blond brow, surprised at the sudden question. "My mother's spawn?"

"Oh, well, you are not my child," he said with a slight frown. Not his child? "I can no longer have children, well, the natural way." He seemed to be rather indifferent, though she realized now that his intended rape of her body would be nothing more than fun for the male. It didn't matter that he wasn't her real father, though it was still sick, but the fact that she felt that it was sick of a male that was already in his forties to be touching her, a fifteen year old female... a child in a sense. "It doesn't matter if you find what I want is sick or not," he spat, reading her eyes. "I will have you as many times as I want, the feeling of fucking you something I have lusted for since you grew into the body that you have now. I could see you would be a beautiful woman the minute I looked at you with your beautiful black locks and those eyes, those eyes that give you a hint of exoticness." He reached out again, his fingers brushing against her soft cheek, the male letting out a groan of pleasure and Sam could see how much enjoyed it as a bulge pushed against the crotch of his pants. She could feel the bile rising up, but he wasn't done. He had more to spill. "I would never allow another the pleasure of touching you, though I had to watch as all those people touched you, groped at you. I had to watch them fucking touch you when I wanted to rip them apart."

Sam found that the thought that he felt he owned her made her mad, the anger rising with the disgust she felt at his own emotions concerning her. "I don't belong to anyone!" she seethed, her eyes narrowing as the disgust was overridden by anger. "When I find someone to love me it will be a partnership!" SMACK. Her other cheek was struck, his eyes flashing at her sudden bravery.

"Oh, no one will love you, Samantha," he growled. "I will ensure that no one will ever want to be near you." Her eyes grew wide at his insinuation. "Anyone who has known you, well, recently mainly, will find their life snuffed out and you will be alone again."

"No-o," she whispered. He straightened, his body towering over her and she realized that he was enjoying her fear, he was finding pleasure that he was causing her pain and it hit her what she had to do. She had to do it to protect the people in her nightmare from being hurt. Not the Fentons. Not Tucker. And definitely not Danny. She would have to kill her emotions and not fight against him either. It may not keep her from being harmed or abused, but it would help them. "I won't react," she promised. "I will lay there and take it...all of it." It would be hard, as she wasn't one to hide how she felt, her eyes an open book, but she could endure it. She had known there was no true escape from what lay before you. No one could save you when you weren't meant to be saved.

"You will comply? What's in it for you?" he asked, sure that she had nothing dear enough to her for her to give up her own life.

"You don't kill them," she whispered. He laughed at her, his body shaking at what she had asked of him.

"Who? I have already killed a few people to keep you at my side," he gloated, unabashed at what he was telling her. "Your mother is dead, her body torn to pieces in our bedroom where her blood paints the walls and floors." The Goth looked at him in surprise, her mouth unable to open to say something. "The woman who had you in protective custody? I killed her, leaving her prone figure in her office." He smiled, not smirked, as he thought of that death. "She was too easy. Her back was turned as she was taking a call," he explained, as if he were telling an interesting story. "She was just too busy to notice me walk into her office, her final words to the person on the other end."

"Her husband," the raven haired girl said, her voice so soft and sad. Though she had only met the woman once and hearing her story, she felt bad and at the same time she realized that Rose had indeed taken the same road as her and they were both headed to the same ending.

"Ah, so the little bitch was married. If she hadn't gotten on my bad side she would have been another woman to join you in your future misery. Beautiful brown hair and those eyes were like marble." The woman was lucky then because she would be reunited with her loved ones at some point in the future, but Sam had no one. Her mother had never loved her and although she knew the people that had helped her cared about her, she had not been long enough in their company to have earned their love. She admitted to feeling a connection with one of her rescuers, but that was all it was, a connection. You couldn't love someone on sight, no, that was a delusion. Hero's Worship. She only had that, silly as it was it made sense to her. All those stupid fairy tales! She was just another damsel in distress, but there was no prince to come to her aid. Danny didn't know where she was anyway and with no real understanding of her family life, would never be able think about where her father would take her.

She could tell by the look of the room that they weren't at home. No, this was one of his many condos, made to have a room to lock her in. It was bigger than the one at their house, but still held only one window and no furniture in the metal room. She would be left in here, the window hidden from the outside, allowed to bask in the heat till she was too faded from exposure to fight. "No more killing," she responded. "You don't kill anyone and I will not fight you." The blond looked down at her, his eyes boring into hers until she turned from him, but it was too late. He had seen it in her eyes, the one person she really fought for.

"Bitch," he hissed. "You are fighting for that boy, that Fenton kid." He didn't like this, her heart yearning for another and while he would rather just kill the boy, he would allow her to believe that the teen would not be hurt. With a wave of his hand he said, "Fine. I will not kill the boy, but know this, Samantha, if you even fight...just once is all it takes and he is the first to go." She nodded, though when she hesitated he clarified it for her, "I will bring that boy here, make him watch as I take you in the most painful way, and in the end when he looks at you with disgust and hate I will end his life..." he faded off, the eyes looking at her watching as her skin paled again. "With you to lay next to him as he pleads for me to end it quicker when I take my time."

"My body is to do with as you want," she whispered, her eyes closing as she uttered the last of it. "And I will submit no matter what." He pushed her under him, his hot breath hitting her face as he rubbed his lower body into her heat. She forced herself to relax, to keep her body still and her stomach down.

"Ah, this will be so much fun," he hissed before his mouth slammed down on hers. She allowed him to work his lips on hers, opened her mouth when his slimy tongue pushed against her lips for entrance. She could taste the scotch on his breath, the dirty taste making her mouth water in a way that would mean she would puke. His hands tore at her long sleeved shirt, the material fighting his hands. As he did this, his hands working to bare her to him, his crotch rubbed harder into her. She felt the shivers of pleasure, but she didn't want it, the knowledge that it was a drug in her body, making her enjoy the feel of him violating her and sully her only made her cry, the tears slipping down her face.

The man on her seemed to enjoy it as he licked the salty moister from her cheeks. When she was open to him, her breasts bared to his blue eyes she felt her body spasm in disgust at his lustful gaze, but she didn't fight him as his smooth hands worked at her globes. She laid perfectly still under him as he he continued his torture, all the while allowing her mind to drift to a dark space where she could forget all that was happening to her.


	11. Chapter 11

Tucker looked at the male before him in surprise, all the events in such a short pass of time rather shocking. To think that all of this had happened in Amity, a place only known for the ghosts and the hero that took them back to the Zone. "And you want me to track them?" He was confused. He had no way to find out what had happened to the raven haired girl, but like Danny and his family, he found that he was drawn to the girl. She had been thru so much and yet, they didn't know her fate and for the news to pass along such graphic and violent events around said male it made it all the more grim for the missing Goth. "I'd need such records or even a paper trail to lead me to them."

"A paper trail?" the halfa inquired. He had heard of such a thing, but only in movies or shows.

"As a wealthy man I would assume he would use a credit card, but there is no telling how long he has been planning to do all this. We don't know what is going on in that sick mind of his, the killing of all those people and then his wife..." Tucker explained, his stomach clenching at the carnage that seemed to follow this one rich male. "If I can find out his bank information then maybe I might be able to locate him, but if he is smart enough to keep people from finding out his dark history for fifteen years, Danny, I can't promise I would be able to locate him." The halfa wanted to rage about that, that the male before him was being so negative about the whole situation, but he knew that the techno-geek was correct. It was a mystery that Jeremy Manson had been able to do all that he had done without a soul knowing, though both doubted that his wife was unaware of what her husband was doing.

"I wonder if he intended to kill her, his wife," Danny said, grimacing at the thought of the woman's death. Though he didn't like her, knowing that she did know about what her husband had been doing to Sam. There was no way she hadn't, but there was no way that she knew her death would be at the hands of the male. There would be two trips needed to find out all that he could about the family and where the blonde male could have taken the raven haired teen. "I need a spy camera," the halfa stated, his friend smiling at him as he took out a small camera, though he wondered why his friend would not take a normal camera since he could just go intangible to find out the missing information to help them secure the missing girl's location. "I will go intangible to find the information, but I feel that it would be better if I could hide the camera just in case."

"So, you're going to go to the bank and the police station," the dark skinned male clarified after his friend explained the two locations that would give them the information they sought, though he wondered about the police station. The police had been just as surprised about the amount of bodies, though they had been shadowing the male since the first few servants had disappeared.

"If what Rose said is true, then there has to be some instances where Jeremy showed his true violence," the halfa explained that the DHS worker had been rather upset finding out that Sam was the child of the family that had been under investigation by several agencies and DHS had not been one save for with his violence the police forces had assumed his wife was being abused or maybe even apart of the whole thing. Tucker got it now. Even if he had been able to pay off some of the cops that could have come to his home, there had to be at least one that could not be bought off. With that the halfa rushed off to do some investigating of his own.

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Sam lay in a new small space, nothing for her to lay on save for the floor that night, her naked body shivering at the chill in the room. It was like all those times that her parents had locked her away for punishment, but this time she knew it was also a way to keep her from being found. The place they were in wasn't their home and while she knew it had to be one of the many homes the family owned, she doubted it was in Amity. No, he would get away from the city that had allowed it to go on for so long without knowledge that she even existed.

He would have moved once he found out that he was being watched now because of her coming forward. Though she was now in a worse situation because of that she was still happy that it was out. Like Rose had told her, it was like a load had been lifted, and while she was here, alone and being defiled by the man she now knew wasn't her real father, there were people looking for her. Frowning at that thought, she knew that even if they found her she could not go back to Danny now. The molestation had been bad enough, making her feel dirty, but to be deflowered in such a vulgar way made her feel completely tainted. There might be someone out there for her, even with all that had happened, but she didn't think that she could give them love, not with her heart and body battered and torn. She was trash, and like he had said, she would never be loved now. She had something to give them before, not just her virginity, but her heart... Now she didn't even have that. It had been days filled with his touch, and he wasn't gentle. No, he liked to make her cry out in pain with each thrust into her body and while she had agreed to do it to save the people that she cared about, she knew that it was still rape.

Huddling into a small ball she thought of how she could escape from this hell hole and all that it entailed. She might not be clean anymore, not in a physical way, but she didn't want to be an incubator and a sex slave for the older male. She wanted her freedom, but then again without money or means she was stuck here.

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Days later found Danny sitting before his computer, Tucker behind him as he downloaded all that he had found on the male that had taken Sam. He was frustrated. It seemed that there was still quite a bit of information missing on the family and what had gone down in their home. There had been one instance that had been recorded, though the woman on the screen just seemed rather irritated to being asked about where her bruises had come from. She didn't look too afraid at first, but after the pair had watched it again, they found that there was more to look for thanks to Jazz who sat on the bed behind them as they watched it for the third time.

Pamela leaned away from the male officer before her, her body bandaged while her face was exposed to the viewer. On the table before the three people were pictures of her body and the marks that littered her pale skin. "I told you," she said, her tone cold. "I am just clumsy and seem to collect bruises." She looked away from the officer, Dean, as his partner, a small female named Blossom, sat moving the pictures around.

"I could believe that," the male said, his gaze sharp as he watched the red head before him while his partner looked rather sympathetic towards the victim. "But this," he stated, his voice low as he moved a few pics forward before continuing, "appears to be fingerprints, not just normal everyday bruising." She didn't even look at the pictures before her, knowing exactly what they were, but still refusing to spill.

"See there," Jazz said, leaning forward as Danny paused the picture. They looked to where she had pointed, the quick glance by the older red head noted while her lip quivered once the screen began to play again. "She wants to say something, to tell them what is going on, but she is scared."

"Makes sense," Tucker said as they paused it again. "The man is violent, but he's not there and she's in a place where she could be safe." This video was about a year before Sam was born, the only record of the abuse in the house. Jazz shook her head.

"If, and I believe it to be true, he is paying someone on the force to keep their affairs in the dark, then she's not really safe in that place. Hell, she may not even know who is on his payroll." That was true. She might be apart of the violence on the small teen that was her child, but it seemed that before her child was born that she took the brute of pain dished out. "For all we know, she may have been taking part in the violence on Sam to protect herself, not that it doesn't change the fact that she is an accomplice." Pressing play they watched the rest of the video which only lasted a few more minutes before a smartly dressed male entered, the lawyer of the Manson family.

The next footage was extra dark. There were pictures of the house, the final resting place of Pamela and with each picture they could see why the newswoman had used the words that she had. Not only was the large bedroom covered in blood, but Jeremy had dismembered his wife, but he had dissected her body as well. Body parts were strew everywhere, the savagery of the act so dark and one of anger that the three of them had a hard time looking at the pictures. There were pictures of the backyard as well, the place that Danny had found Sam, and every square inch was dug up to reveal body on top of body. They still were digging up the mass grave, the bodies having autopsies on them to discover who they were and how they died. It was rather brutal as each death was obviously brought about in such a cruel fashion. Though most of the bodies were now skeletal remains the fresher ones seemed to be bludgeoned to death. Some marks were noted as being done by hand and others with whatever the male had found at his disposal.

"Did you find any information that could help us locate her?" Jazz asked, dragging her eyes from the screen. Danny nodded, though he didn't look too hopeful.

"There wasn't a paper trail, save for the fact that he pulled quite a bit of money out the day before she went missing." There had been withdraws of the same amount for years and that was disheartening because it meant that the older male had been planning this for a while. His eyes flashed green at the thought that he had intended to do all that he had done and all to cause more pain to the small raven haired girl. It would take forever to find where they had gone. "The fucked up shit is that they have several homes across the globe." That raised a brow. "More than ten homes in several locations such as England and even Australia." This was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, but if his parents helped them then they might be able to locate her sooner, though the three of them knew the damage would already be done to the raven haired girl... if she was still alive when they found her.

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A year later found Sam looking morosely thru a window, the small room bare save for a mattress in the room. Though Jeremy had found that she was true to her word, he still didn't trust her enough to give her anything that could break the windows in the second story room he had placed her in just a few months after the beginning of his torment of her. He had yet to try and impregnate her, but she figured that he was just enjoying her as much as he could before he had to be gentle, her body holding his heir...one of many she was sure. While she was glad that he had held off, she found herself growing more and more concerned that soon she would find herself contained in another way. She hadn't stopped scheming to find a way out of the house, but if she were to become pregnant, not only would it make escaping harder, but she knew that he would keep a closer eye on her.

It was one thing when she was beaten to the point that she wouldn't move, but with her pregnant he would have no real way to subdue her save for locking her up in the small room. He wouldn't do that. He wanted children, the very children that he hadn't wanted to bestow upon his wife with her plain coloring. Sam shivered, walking away from the window and sat down on the mattress. She wasn't allowed to cover her body, well, to wear clothes, and he kept the temperature low so she found that she never could move much. Her body shivered again, harder as tears escaped from her amethyst orbs. She had been sure that after all that he had done to her that she would not be able to cry anymore, but yet here she was bawling like a baby over something she couldn't seem to escape. He was always in the home anyway, the raven haired beauty sure that he had no way to leave the house since she had blown his life right out of the water. Smirking at the thought that she had put him in a corner, she pulled the covers over her body.

Even if she would never be free, the male was locked away with her, and that made her happy to know that he could do no ill will towards the Fentons or even Tucker since he couldn't leave the house. Little did she know that even being locked away he had worked out a plan, finding someone to kill the family and to bring the boy to his home... it just hadn't been the right time with all that had been going on in Amity. Laying back, the small girl curled up on the mattress, her eyes closing seconds after that as she fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

When the Goth woke up later that night she found that the house was really quiet, almost too quiet when the blond male was around he was always coming to check up on her or doing something close to where she lay. The door had been taken off the hinges in the frame so that she never had any privacy, but what was strange was that all the lights were off, even in her room. Blinking she sat up and headed for the window where the moonlight filtered thru to give her some sight in the darkened house. She wondered what he was thinking with the blackout in the two story building. Pulling the sheets tighter around her small form she headed for the darkened hall. Jeremy was never one to turn off the lights, not even in her room when she wanted to sleep. No, he wanted to be able to see her should she move around the second floor. The floor was her own, save for his room which was just across the hallway from her small space. He kept his door closed, but when she peeked out she found the door wide open and the male that occupied it missing.

Growing more curious and brave, she headed for the stairs, the large gate that had been erected to keep her in, like a child's gate was made to keep children out of certain unsafe places, still stood closed before her. Leaning up against it she could feel the icy chill of the steel, but paid it no mind as she strained to hear anything from the first floor. She could see no light at the bottom of the steps. "What is going on?" she murmured as she stepped away from the gate. She couldn't figure out what the male had planned, but she knew it would not bode well for her. He liked to surprise her, taking her off guard one of his many joys, but he had never done this before. Creeping back to his room this time she stood in the doorway to find his bed unmade with several papers littering the large mattress. Taking one more look around as she listened for the sound of Jeremy she moved into the room. To her right was a large closet, the space brimming with clothing. Some of it looked like his, the rich fabric more to his taste while others looked more middle or even low class in appearance. Smiling she grabbed a large white shirt. Though she didn't want to wear his clothing, she was tired of running around the place naked. Looking around after pulling on the large shirt, the top falling just past mid thigh, she found a dresser. Hoping that she could find something that fit her small body she opened the top drawer to find boxers. Frowning in disgust she shut the door and opened the next one only to find several jeans.

That wouldn't work either. She was sure that she was way too small to fit those and shutting the door she opened the last drawer, her lips turning upward as she smiled. In this drawer she found several sweatpants and shorts. Pulling out a pair of red sweatpants she pulled them on, the sound of glass breaking below her making her move quickly to the gate again. Her bare feet didn't make a sound, but she was still cautious of alerting to whoever was breaking into the house that she was here. Sam could hear them moving around down there, the sound of them stepping on the glass loud in the otherwise silent home. Edging into the shadows of the wall she listened as the sound of another person mixed in with the first person. While she was glad that Jeremy seemed to be gone, she was also worried about this new threat. There was no way that these people in the house were friendly, no, they were obviously robbing the house.

"You were right," a male voice stated, his tone of surprise drifting up the stairs to where the raven haired girl stood. "He is loaded! Look at all this shit!" The other person made a shushing sound and a smack was heard.

"Shut up," a woman hissed. "This guy is crazy." Sam wondered who these people were and how did this woman know that Jeremy was crazy? It seemed that her companion was curious too as he inquired as to why she thought that. "He comes into the store to buy the strangest things, like duct tape and other strange things, for a man as wealthy as he appeared to be, to purchase. Hell, the man buys little in the way of food and while that isn't strange to most I have known my fair share of wealthy men. They don't usually shop for themselves and they don't buy cheap stuff."

"That doesn't mean shit," the male said. Sam had to agree, though she didn't know much about the differences in her own status and those of the people robbing the place either. The only people that she had been around, besides her family's circle of friends, were the Fentons and while she had never seen them buy duct tape or anything they didn't seem all that different, save for shopping for their own family.

"Trust me, there is something off about this man. He comes in and makes sure to keep his head down, never meeting anyone's gaze while at the same time keeping close watch to his surroundings." She paused, her voice growing closer to the stairs as she began to talk again. "The other thing that catches my eye is his appearance."

"What about it?" came the far away question, the sound of drawers opening downstairs echoing around them.

"He looks familiar, though I can't place where I have seen his face..." she faded off as she came to the end of the stairway. Sam backed up a bit further, her amethyst orbs only able to see a shadow below her. "I think it was a news story or something." She looked up now, her eyes a bright greenish blue. She raised a brow at the gate before her. Grabbing the rail she moved up the stairs, her eyes never leaving the strange feature in her way. "I have heard of safes and shit, but this is biza-" she stopped, her voice halting when she noticed the shadow watching her next to the wall. The Goth let out a small squeak of alarm, but the woman just leaned closer.

"What's up?" came the male voice as he turned the corner to find his partner standing before a large gate, her stance frozen as she looked at the shadows to the right of the gate.

"I thought he was alone," the woman muttered before producing a gun, the barrel of the gun pointed right at Sam. The Goth moved back, the light from the window behind her allowing the woman before her to see part of her. Her amethyst gaze was wide, fear filling the large orbs. The male came to stand next to his partner, his eyes squinting at the small female before them. "I never saw anyone with him at the store or even thru the windows downstairs," she clarified.

"She doesn't know what we look like so let's just get the shit and go," the male said. Sam debated at that moment, her choice of staying in the house or leaving, even with these two. The thought of what the blond would do after finding his hideout wiped clean and the fact that she wanted to be free from him won as she moved closer to them.

"He has more valuable stuff in here," she said, her voice so soft. "The safe where he keeps his money is in here." That seemed to interest them.

"Well, let us in," the male stated to the surprise of his female companion who smacked him.

"Why would she do that, idiot?" Sam moved even closer, her hands reaching out to touch the bars. The pair couldn't see her in the shadows that now covered her, but they could tell by the tone of her voice when she spoke again that she was afraid.

"I would if I could," she said, her head coming down for a moment. "I'm locked in here." That surprised the pair. "He is keeping me against my will."

"Is he your husband or something?" the male asked, curious about this female before him. She shook her head as she looked up at them.

"He's my father, though not by blood." She looked to the woman. "You said you thought he was on a news story or something, well, you were right." The woman blinked. "His name is Jeremy Manson, the one that killed his wife."

"That fucker is the murder of all those people?" the woman gasped is surprise and disgust, turning to her partner she nodded. They would help her escape, but how would they get her out of the locked area? As they spoke about the ways to help the small female escape Sam moved away from them for a moment, heading for his room. Looking around she tried to see if there was anything in the room that could aid the couple willing to help her out of her situation. Then she recalled that Jeremy had put up the gate himself and rushing back to them she told them that there was possibly a blowtorch or something downstairs. The male disappeared, the woman still standing there before Sam with only the gate separating them. "Why would you trust us to help you?"

"When you've been thru what I have been thru you would trust the devil," was her response. "I don't even want to go with you, I just want to get out of this house." The woman could tell that this girl was being truthful and she had to agree. If there was a way to escape from a bad situation, though she had no idea what Sam had been thru, then yeah, even the devil would be a welcome aid. You can have whatever is in the house, hell, you can burn it to the ground, but I won't trouble you after that." Then she recalled that she had no idea where she was. "Where am I?"

"Kansas. Wichita, Kansas." Just then the male reappeared, in his hands a blowtorch. The two women stepped back to allow him to turn on the machine, the bright light illuminating all of them. The pair before her wore masks, the ski masks covering their whole head save for their mouths and their eyes. The woman's eyes grew large as she saw Sam, the girl swamped in the large clothing, but her face was turned from the painfully bright flame of the tool. It didn't take the male long to destroy the lock on the gate and within minutes they were before her, the small girl showing them were the safe was and the laptop that sat on the desk in Jeremy's room. She was still confused as to where the male in question was, but she wasn't going to allow it to keep her from escaping as soon as she could. Walking out of his room she headed down the stairs, the pair following close behind her with the small safe and several other goods.

She found the window that they had broken in thru just past the kitchen in the living room. Climbing out she left the pair to finish their task, her bare feet getting cut on the glass that littered the floor, but she didn't care about that as she sprinted away from the house that had been her prison for a year. Though she could have stopped at one of the many houses that surrounded it she chose not to, keeping in the shadows as she moved further and further from the house. She had no idea where she would go, and as much as she wanted to go back to Danny, she knew that doing so would put him in danger. Jeremy would be sure to check if she had gone there so with a heavy heart she pondered on how she would survive outside the place that had housed her. She had no money, no car, nothing to aid her in her escape.

She had only gone a block when a horn honked, the raven haired girl tensing as she looked around the edge of the house she had just came to. Seeing an unfamiliar van she went to creep around the backyard only to be stopped when the same voice as the woman robbing the house hit her ears. "Come on!" she called out. At first the Goth wanted to brush them off, unsure of what they would do if she willingly went to join them in the van, but in the end she turned and walked over to the driver side. The woman leaned out, her mask gone now to reveal a rather pretty looking blond woman. "Come with us. I can take you to a bus station, but then you are on your own." Sam wanted to point out that she had no money, but the woman said, "Don't worry. I will give you some of the cash from the sale of the bastard's goods to aid you on that trip." Nodding, Sam walked around to the sliding door of the van. Opening it up she crawled into the darkened interior where several items filled the seat-less space. As soon as she shut the door the trio were off just as another vehicle pulled before the house that had just been robbed.


	13. Chapter 13

Jeremy was in a rage, his blue eyes flashing as he noted that the gate on the top of the stairs was opened, the steel structure intact save for a burnt space where the keyhole had been. Looking around in the darkened space the male growled. When had the power gone out? What had happened, but more important was the fact that was Sam still in her room? He doubted it, but he still rushed up the stairs, the darkness making it hard to see, but as he knew the house pretty well since the pair had been there for a year he knew which door was her room. Rushing into the space he found his anger rising, the sight of the empty bed causing him to punch a wall to his right. "I will find you, bitch," he hissed before turning toward his room. He had thought he would be only gone for a few minutes, just to grab some items from the store like food and stuff, but the computers at the store had gone down, the electricity flickering around the store and thus had delayed him. He had thought it fine since the Goth would still be asleep as she hardly ever had time to rest, not with how often he liked to torment her or to have a nice little quickie.

His door was still open, though it was far more open then he had left it so when he entered to find that not only was his laptop missing, but the safe that was in the closet he came to the conclusion that he had been robbed, but that Sam had aided the people who had broken in. Rushing downstairs he found the place where they had come in, the window allowing the cool air to escape into the heat of the night. He looked around the room, all his electronics like the TV gone, the space bare, but he didn't care about those. He was more concerned with the fact that his safe was gone and his hostage had managed to escape. His eyes narrowed. This was a major issue when he had withdrawn all that cash before making the escape with his wife's child. He didn't need the police finding him so he had made sure he would have no need for the credit card in his wallet, at least until he needed to use it and by then he would have been on the move. He had plenty of houses to keep his sex slave in and then a final place that would hold her once he got her pregnant. Now that was all ruined and while he knew he could find her again, would he be able to do it before she found a way home?

She didn't have any money and he doubted that the ones who had robbed the place would give her any part of their loot, but then where had she gone and how long had she been gone? Moving toward the window he smirked when he noted the bit of blood on the sill. Seems that someone had hurt themselves... Was it the blood of the ones that had robbed his place or was it Sam who had left her blood behind? He couldn't call the police, not the ones here. If he had been back at Amity he could have called on the ones that he had bribed, but he had not brought enough money to bribe any of the law enforcement in this place. Cursing again he got on his phone to get the one person he could trust on the case. He had a feeling that Sam would return to the Fentons and with this woman on the case he could get her back before she did just that.

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Sam wasn't on her way back to Danny, though she wanted to, no, at that moment she was still in the van, the pair before her talking about what they would do once they cashed in on their loot. It seemed to her that they didn't rob for drugs or anything, but she couldn't pinpoint what they did and shutting her ears to their voices she began to wonder what she would need to do before she could run anywhere. She couldn't stay with them, no, they had helped her more than they should have and her being their company could go one of two ways... If they were caught then she was caught or if Jeremy came to collect her then they would be fatalities. While Sam didn't know them, she didn't want anymore people hurt because they knew.

Hours later found the trio in front of shop, the blond leaving the car to enter that same shop while the male sat in his chair with his eyes closed. Sam wasn't sure what was going on or why they had stopped here, but the woman had promised that she would assist in getting Sam to transportation that would take her far from the man who had been holding her captive. Unbeknown to her was the plan that the blond had concocted. She was going to help the raven haired woman in more ways than one.

"So, how long has he held you in there?" the male in the passenger seat inquired without opening his eyes.

"A year," she said. She could tell that he wanted to ask more, but the male in the seat didn't say another word as his partner came out from the store a few minutes later with a couple of bags in her arms. She climbed into the driver seat before turning around to drop the bags before Sam. "What is this?" the raven haired girl inquired as she looked at the bags before her, though she didn't touch either one.

"A disguise, though the wig is just a temporary thing since I also grabbed you some hair dye." Sam blinked and looking into the bag found brown wig, the style shorter than her own long hair as well as hair dye that was a dirty blond tone. In the other bag she found a pair of black boots and some clean socks. Under that was a red shirt and black jeans. The Goth looked up at her in confusion only to find the woman before her with a pair of scissors. Sam eyed them in surprise. "We can use the bathroom around the back to cut your hair and get you dressed so that you don't stand out." She reached over to grab a pair of sunglasses from the glove box. The raven haired female didn't know what to say. She had never thought strangers would be willing to go so far to help her, though the Fentons had done just that. Danny hadn't even known her and had been willing to take her out of the dark place she had been in and given her a chance at a better life. Nodding the women took the bags and heading for the bathroom began to work on camouflaging the small girl.

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Meanwhile Danny was sitting in his room waiting for any news on the missing raven haired teen, worry that they would get to her too late. Over the year that she had been gone the family had kept in touch with the police, the law already aware of his homes that spanned the globe. They would be unable to do much if he had gone overseas as they were limited by the laws concerning such things, but they had put out flyers and APB's on the missing girl. Sam was a celebrity, her home life blowing up around the globe with people making comments online about how they were praying for her safe return or concerns over how no one had known about her existence even when the cops had been investigating the male figure in her home.

His own laptop was open to his Facebook page, the pictures that he himself had shared to his family and followers about the missing teen. As he was getting ready to close the laptop his messenger popped up, Tucker's name on the screen before him. Clicking on the 'answer' button with his mouse he found the other teen looking rather excited.

"He withdrew money!" the dark skinned male cheered, the halfa before him looking surprised. With all the money that the male had withdrawn before taking the raven haired female, none of them had thought he would slip up and withdraw more money from his card. The cops had left it on just in case he did do it before they could find him. If they had shut it off then they would lose their chance to find him sooner, though allowing him access to his funds had a down side. That just meant he could keep Sam for longer.

"Where?" the halfa asked, pushing the negative thoughts to the side. It didn't matter what his plans were now because they would get to him before the cops even had a chance to blink. While the blond haired murderer could up and move with funds at his disposal the raven haired halfa could fly to wherever he was and stop him before he got far. Danny just hoped that they weren't across the seas like all of them feared he would do. It would be the smart move as they couldn't get to him, but at the same time he would have to go thru security at any of the airports or other ways of transportation to remove her from the states. That would have been just as tricky in the beginning as it would be now with his face plastered everywhere and her own picture on display next to it.

"Wichita, Kansas," the techno-geek responded with a smile. Danny found himself smiling now. He had been just a few states away and while that was frustrating to think of the fact that he was so close to them this whole time he was glad that the male hadn't left the states so with a few words to his friend he took off to find the blond male that was holding his friend captive.

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The teen in question was now standing before a bus station, the blond female smiling from the driver's seat as she wished the now brown haired female luck. Smiling at them she headed toward the terminal, several people milling around her making the small female a little nervous, but with her altered appearance she knew that if Jeremy or one of his spies was close by that they would have a problem picking her out of the crowd. She had no luggage with her and while she knew that would make her stick out like a sore thumb in a crowd of people carrying something with them she paid it no mind. She would just get her ticket and head out. Even if she wasn't going back to Amity just yet and she didn't want to go to the cops as they would be unable to protect her, especially with that woman working on the inside, she would go as close as she could so that she could figure out how she could get back to the Fentons without putting the family in danger. She knew that they would only be safe once they caught not only Jeremy, but the people on the inside so entering the building she headed for the information area where a map listed all the places that the buses were going that day.

She would need to find a city where either she could get lost in the crowd or a place that would was so small that Jeremy wouldn't even think to look for her there. The problem was that while the people who had helped her had given her about five hundred dollars, the money wouldn't last very long and without an ID or SS card she couldn't get a job. That was one problem of many. She looked at the map and finding a place to go to that would keep her close enough to Amity she headed for the ticket booth, a small line of people standing in line before. While waiting she began to think of something she could do to provide her the money needed to stay hidden until the man who had kidnapped her and his allies were taken care off unaware that while she was standing in line that Danny was on the way to save her.

Moving forward in line she decided that she would go back to Amity. She wouldn't go back to the Fentons, but being closer to her own home town might be an advantage should her funds run out. She would at least know the place if she found herself homeless or something. With that thought as she moved before the ticket master she said, "Amity Park, Minnesota." Taking the ticket she headed back outside to wait for the time when she could board the large vehicle.


	14. Chapter 14

Danny found the place that the blond haired male had withdrawn cash, the streets now bare save for three people, but none of them had bright blond hair... at least not that he could see. All three men on the streets were wearing hats and all were caps and all wore sweat suits. The halfa frowned. How was he supposed to tell who was the right target? Though it took time to get here, the infi-map had helped, the item a godsend from Frostbite. Still Tucker had told him that while Jeremy had withdrawn cash it had only been a about a thousand dollars. Would that be all that he needed to do whatever he was planning to do? That was when the white haired male noted that one man out of the three was acting strange... It was his walk! Though Danny hadn't known that much about the wealthier breed of people, he knew that this male was walking rather stiffly and that was how he had seen this particular male walk! Rushing at the male he took him down, the cap falling off to reveal straw blond hair. The man struggled beneath him as the sounds of sirens filled the streets. Danny raised a brow at this because it was more than one officer on the way and unless it were something serious only one came out.

He smirked. That meant that Sam was safe, right? If the police had acted this quickly then they must have figured out where the male had been keeping his friend. "You fucking brat!" Jeremy hissed out from under him, his fist connecting with the halfa's cheek. Danny growled at him, the strike telling the white haired male how hard the man had struck Sam or even his wife.

"This brat isn't playing games with you, bastard," he hissed. Though he knew his parents would be upset with that language, at this point he didn't care since the man was a monster. Hell, Danny felt this man was more of a monster then the ghosts he fought and that was saying a lot. "You fucking beat up your wife and then abused your child!"

"She isn't my blood, fool!" Danny saw red at his words. Did the blond think that because Sam wasn't his blood that he could treat her like that?! She was just a kid! Treated as nothing more than trash by his hands and although Pamela was to blame as well, the halfa was sure that she had beaten into her role. "Besides, she's gone." At the cold tone of Jeremy, the ghost fighter went still, the thought that this male had killed the small raven haired teen causing his heart to stop. Growling he powered up just as the police pulled up. The blond seemed to realize that the teen on him was quite serious about killing him. "She e-escaped!" The cops popped out of their cars, three vehicles stopping before the teen and the older male. Danny floated up, watching as the cops moved to apprehend the male, save for two who looked up at him in confusion.

He hadn't been the ghost boy for long, at least a year, so only his town knew of his presence. Smiling at them he disappeared, though he didn't leave, no, he just followed them back to the station, ready to overshadow the blond male as soon as they got there.

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Sam sat in the back of the bus, her eyes wide behind the large shades that she was wearing. She watched all the people around her, suspicious of all of them. She didn't know who the male had in his employ. She could have put herself in a worse situation, but as the bus pulled off she leaned back as far as she could in her seat as she glanced out the window. Should she have sat in the front of the bus so she had a better chance of escape? She was so paranoid, her body sweating to the point that she felt her clothing stick to her. No, she was right to sit back here because if someone tried to snatch her then she could attract the attention of the other passengers. There was no way that he had that many employed and though she relaxed slightly she still kept to herself. She made sure that no one moved to sit with her, the other seat at her side vacant. The bus wasn't really full, with a few seats empty.

She yawned, the lack of sleep catching up with her in combination to the gentle rocking of the large bus. Her eyes felt so heavy, her body feeling the same effect of her eyes. Sam wanted to fight it, but with the whole night and part of the day on alert and no sleep for nearly 24 hours, not that she had ever really gotten that much sleep over the last year with Jeremy's appetite. She shuddered at that thought. She didn't want to think about all the vile things she had experienced at his hands so she allowed her body to shut down and sleep to take her.

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When the officers entered the small station the halfa followed, enjoying the sight of Jeremy struggling as he cursed the cops for apprehending him. Danny was about to overshadow the older male when he asked the question that the halfa had wanted to know. "How did you find me?!" One of the officers, a man called Trite, smirked at him.

"An anonymous source called to say that you were in the area," he spat. "Seems that when we went to your house we found the most interesting things." Danny could see the disgust in the officer's face and he turned toward the blond. Had it been worse than he had thought it could be? Jeremy sneered. "We found the room that you kept her in and the gate that kept her from leaving or anyone seeing her." A gate? No wonder no one had seen the raven haired female. She couldn't be seen a second story home if she was always kept upstairs. He glared at the male when Trite began to speak again. "What did you do to that girl?"

"None of your god damned business!" the blond snapped leading all in the room to turn and look as the three males narrowed their eyes, sure that his viscous tone revealing that he had done something to the teen. "She was a willing partner and I never made her do anything that she didn't want!" The other officer, Cornball, snarled as he got the gist of what Jeremy had said, though Danny was left out of the loop. He had only found out about how bad a person could be from what he had heard Sam say all that time ag-

"He-e to-ouched me."

"He stuck-k his fingers-s-s..."

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" he bellowed when it all clicked, his body still invisible, but he didn't care as his fist struck out to clock the male in the chin, his teeth clattering against each other as he fell to the ground. "WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS ALRIGHT?!" Danny was pissed. Sam had been molested, the girl he had rescued had been touched against her will! Her voice repeated those two phrases, the sound of her cries filling his ears and clutching his heart. Now the male that had done that had gone even further! He had done what NO man should do! He had raped the teen! Had forced himself on her! While this repeated itself in his head the halfa who had been a hero to his town pummeled the human male, his blood flying with every strike as his eyes flashed brighter, his power glowing brighter around him. Though he was still invisible, the light from his power filled the room, several people rushing over to see what was going while others ran from the scene.

The two officers that had brought the male in watched in shock, unable to bring themselves to move to stop whatever was beating the male into a pulp. When they finally made a move to aid the downed man, his face turning purple and black right before their eyes as his body jumped with each strike by Danny, they were stopped as more came into light concerning the child. There had been reports that she had been touched, the woman who had made those reports found dead shortly after they were filled with the DHS in Amity.

"YOU TOUCHED HER IN WAYS THAT NO MAN SHOULD TOUCH A CHILD! SHE CRIED, HER OWN TRUST IN HER BODY GONE WHEN IT BETRAYED HER!" The two officers stopped for a second, those words filing both with hatred. There was nothing worse than someone who touched a child in a sexual way, much less raped said child and it was clear by the state of the room that the teen had been raped. Realizing that even if the man deserved it they needed this man alive to find the girl so coming to his aid, the halfa found himself crowded. He almost struck out at the two cops, but stopped himself. Shoving the blond into a wall the halfa took off. It seemed that Sam had gotten away as the police had not mentioned finding her, just where she had been kept. The problem was... where could she have gone?

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Hours later found the Goth waking up as the bus pulled into the terminal, another bus waiting that indicated that it was the number on her ticket. Moving quickly she nearly sprinted to the other bus, ensuring that not only was she able to grab a seat in the back, but that she not out in the open for very long. Though with her disguise she didn't appear to be the same teen as the one reported missing, but for some reason the raven haired girl, now a brunette, still felt like it would all go bad. Somehow Jeremy would find her even if she thought she was safe. It had happened when she had been in protective custody. Why wouldn't it happen again? She had never been lucky in escaping her parents when she had been younger so what made now any different? She looked out the window, her body wired from the short nap and while she did feel more awake since the four hour nap, she was still feeling groggy. Her body hadn't been mobile like this for a whole year and it was feeling sluggish. Leaning back against the seat she allowed her body to relax.

Though she wouldn't be sleeping this time she knew her body needed to relax. Laying there with her foot on the seat next to her she allowed her mind to wander while her body enjoyed the rest of its muscles. She wondered what Danny was doing now and how long she would have to wait for the two people to be caught... how much longer she would be alone until his other minions were caught?

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At this moment the DHS woman sat in her supervisor's office, her eyes watching her boss as the woman typed on her laptop, the screen turned away from Allyson. The brunette wanted to turn in her seat, the silence of her boss making her nervous. The woman before her was never silent unless she was angry. Finally she could take it no more and asked, "What is wrong Mrs. Mia?" The red head looked up, her green eyes cold as she stared at her underling.

"You know what is up, Allyson," the woman said just seconds before the door burst open as several officers rushed into the room to the surprise of the brunette. "You fucked up."

"You are under arrest for the abduction of one Samantha Manson, a minor. You are also being charged with accomplice to child molestation and rape of an minor child." Blue eyes met green as the brunette attempted to fight back. "You have the right to remain silent..." the words faded once the woman was cuffed, her form being dragged out of the office. Her supervisor just shook her head as she closed her laptop with a look upward.


	15. Chapter 15

As Danny flew back to his home town and Sam relaxed on the bus, another arrest was being made as Allyson, in an attempt to gain leniency, spilled the beans on the two people who had killed the Mansons as well as the names of several cops in the force that had known about all that was going on in the home. She was an open book, the officer across from her writing it all down while another one taped the session. Above them a camera also taped what was going on while two adults with another officer watched the woman on the other side of the glass spill all that she knew about Jeremy and his connections.

"He had planned to kill his wife when the girl turned sixteen," the brunette stated, her eyes adverted as she glared at the wall. While she was willing to save her skin by giving them the information that they asked for, she was not happy about it. Not that it would do her any good as she was still being charged, but the prison time that came with those charges would mean that she would never see the outside world. She didn't want to be stuck in a cell for the rest of her life, no, she was still young and wanted to continue with the freedom that she had enjoyed for years. She would not be able to have a great job, but that was no matter since she had stashed several thousands of dollars away in a secure location where not even the police could locate it. She would not be able to be around children ever again and while at one point she had dreamed of having a family, that was no longer viable. What man would want to be with her now? She was fine with that too, though it hurt.

"So, he had this all planned out, but it happened earlier than anticipated?" the brunette nodded, turning to them now.

"He was going to leave the states," she said with a cold look. "Had a place on some island with a house made to keep her contained and even being sterile had planned to have children with her." The shocked looks before her were no different than the ones on the other side of the glass, save for the anger that was reflected by the woman and male that stood close to the glass. The red headed woman frowned at the thought that a man would do something so vile. It had been heart breaking to hear the small Goth cry to her about the unwanted touches, but to think that he had something far worse planned.

"Was it complete, this house?" She shook her head. "Was it ready to house anyone?"

"Yeah, he could bring her there, but it had yet to have the facilities for her impregnation built on it. All the other rooms were done." As she explained what the house had entailed the raven haired man on the other side of the glass fisted his hand, ready to strike the woman down with every word out of her mouth. She was so cold and detached about the whole thing. The woman at his side could feel it coming off of him, the feeling of his rage washing over her. She was angry to think that Sam would have been kept away in a place that no one would look. This island was uncharted, save for the male who had purchased it and the people who had built his house of perversions on its shores.

"If it was bought by him," the officer taping the confession said, "as well as the fact that he brought people there to build on it, what made him think that no one would find her there?" This was true! He would have to claim the land and while he could put it in another name, it would still trace back to him! She smirked, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, he didn't purchase it from a reputable source, so it was never charted as belonging to anyone, hell, it didn't exist on any record. He found the seller on the black market." She leaned forward now, her face just a foot from the officer before her. "As for those workers..." she faded off, allowing all that could hear this to figure it out for themselves as she leaned away again. "He had it all figured out. The man you are searching for has a black heart if he has one at all."

"Well, we caught him," the other officer stated as he looked up from his notes. She looked at him in surprise. "Seems that someone called in a tip about the house he was keeping her and although the girl wasn't in the home Mr. Manson has admitted that she escaped." Blue eyes grew wide at the realization that the one that had employed her had not gotten away. She had been sure that the blond was too powerful to go down without a fight and crafty enough that he would never get caught. Knowing this information she closed her eyes for a moment. While she had only been in it for the money, the male had enthralled her with his ego, his smarts and his darkness. Sure, she was here spilling his secrets, but she wasn't going to go down for anyone. "Do you know of where the island is?" Her eyes opened and she seemed to be thinking about it, but in the end she refused to answer. "We will find it eventually, not that you all won't be going down regardless of this detail missing, but if we had it then we could destroy it."

"No such place should exist for anyone to use at their whim," the other male stated. She thought about that, sure that the male who had sold it to Jeremy would repossess the place for his own uses. He might use it to keep women and torture them, breaking them for his human trafficking business that he had admitted to having. The man wasn't as evil as Jeremy, his plans were more harmful in a sense that he wasn't just after one person to keep under his thumb. No, he was out to harm as many people as he could. She wasn't a good person, but she hadn't liked the male that had aided the blond male in his task, urging Jeremy to find another person to assist him in his plans. The blond hadn't listened, sure that both men could benefit each other with money from the wealthy man and a place to keep his dark secret from the other male. While she didn't know where the island was, she knew the name of the male who had sold it to the wealthy male.

"I don't know where it is, but if you go into the dark web and find a man by the name of Chernobog." Spelling his name for the one taking notes she continued, "He is the one that sold the island to Jeremy and holds the coordinates to finding the island. He keeps records on all of his sells." With that she was done talking.

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Danny was in his room later that night when his parents came to find him. He looked up from his computer, all the information pertaining to the arrest of Mr. Manson on the screen as well as pictures of the house that Sam had been kept in. The news had no information on the location of the missing girl, but from what they could gather from the police it seemed that his home had been broken into the night that Sam had gone missing. It was concluded that while she may be alive, that she was also possibly dead at the hands of the ones who had robbed the home. There were shots of the inside of the house in another window on his screen, the ones that Tucker had hacked to send to the halfa. Danny found his anger rising at the images of the room that had been Sam's cell for the last year.

While there was a small bit of blood on the mattress there was no proof that she had been killed in the home. He clicked another picture to show where the robbers had entered the home. Again, there had been blood found on the frame of the broken window, but until the police ran the sample found they were unsure whose blood it was. The report stated that there had been no female clothing found in the house leading them to believe that either she only had one pair of clothing or that she was forced to stay in the nude. The report stated that they were led to believe by his own words that the blond male had raped the teen.

"Danny," his mother called, a knock on his door indicating that they wanted to enter so with a turn from his computer he granted them entrance. His mother looked upset, but his father looked like he was in a blind rage as they stood over him. They looked at the screen of his computer, all the information from the capture of Jeremy looking back at them as the newsperson stood frozen before the home that had housed the Goth. The halfa had been told by them about where they had been so he waited for them to speak, to tell them what had happened. "They caught all the people responsible for aiding Jeremy, but there is more to the story then even we were aware of." Danny knew the other half to the story and his eyes flashed green. His parents took a step back.

"He raped her," the halfa spat to the surprise of his parents, his father growling at what his son had revealed, but before they could ask why he said that the halfa clarified, telling them of his adventure just that morning with the blond haired male in the police station. "He said that she wanted it, that she had been a willing partner in what he did to her." Maddie couldn't believe that the frightened teen would have stayed silent against such an assault and neither could her husband. Sam had been so broken, her story touching their souls and breaking their hearts at all she had gone thru at the hands of the people who had been her parents. Danny hadn't been there when she had told her side of the story, her life exposed to the adults that stood before their son.

While their young son was aware of the sexual abuse that Sam had been dealt at the hands of the older male, he wasn't aware of all that had gone down in the home. Sure, he had found her in the spot where, according to Sam, she was kept without food, but he didn't know that the parents had been starving the girl and not always as a punishment, but as a way to keep her skinny. She was not allowed to gain much weight for fear that she might be considered too big to fulfil her duty as a wife to the man they married her off to, or able to be eye candy for him either. Maddie sat down and patting the spot next to her on his bed she said, "Danny, there was so much going on in that house and after sitting there with her as she told her story to Rose, we found out all the horrible things that had been done to her. Though she can't recall all of them, her young mind unable to recall those first few years, but Sam remembers being starved, even at a young age." The halfa frowned at what his mother was telling him, but allowed her to continue to recount what the raven haired female had told the DHS worker.

"She never had a chance," the halfa muttered once the story was done. "Not if I hadn't come across her."

"No, she was to have been sold to the highest bidder and still treated like property, but Sam did try to run on several occasions as a child."

"Why didn't she tell anyone?" his mother shook her head. She had no idea and while Sam hadn't really given them much they were sure that she had just been too afraid to say a word. "And yet they always found her," the raven haired male grumbled.

"That's not even the worse of it either, since he never planned to give her to anyone." Danny knew that he had wondered about that too, as he had been planning to do something with the fact that he had been withdrawing funds for years before the abduction. While it had been strange it hadn't been enough to prove what the male had really been planning. "He had a house built to keep her in."

"What?" the halfa asked, the room growing cooler as his powers flickered slightly around him.

"The woman, a worker for DHS, helped to kidnap her from her protection and knew all that Jeremey was planning. Suffice to say," Maddie said sadly, her eyes filled with hate and worry. "He had planned to use her to birth children and while it was to be an artificial way, I doubt..." she faded off, the remainder of the sentence left unsaid, but still known to all in the room. Danny didn't know what to say, to think that with all that had been done to the raven haired teen, she would be used to give birth to the male's children. "That a father wo-"

"He wasn't her father," the raven haired teen said with a frown, his parents looking shocked at this new bit of information. Allyson hadn't said anything about that. "He said that she wasn't his relation by blood. Now it makes sense that if he were sterile that he couldn't have fathered her, but he was still the one that, hell, I can't even call what he did as raising!" the halfa bellowed in rage, ice forming on the bed again like it had the first time he had learned of the sick things that Jeremy had done to Sam. "He's a sick fuck and I should have killed him when I had the chance!" Maddie and Jack stood to avoid the ice that was spreading across the blue comforter. They wanted to placate their child, but without any good news, besides that Sam had escaped, there was nothing positive to say about the situation. Like Danny, they had no idea as to what had happened after Jeremy had been caught. The house had been empty, robbers having cleared out the residence.

"I think that she ran, that whoever had entered the home either weren't aware of her being in there or..." Jack stated, fading off as he realized that the only other thing that could have happened would have been the end of the raven haired child. No criminal would have wanted a witness to their crime. Sam would have been killed for catching them in their deed, and while they would like to believe that the people who had cleaned out the home had not seen her, the gate that had kept her on the second floor had been broken into. They would just have to wait, though they had filled out paperwork to adopt her or at least foster her until she turned eighteen. Thankfully Rose had been alive for long enough to put her two cents in for their case, but they had yet to hear back from the judge on the case. With all that had been happening with her life being in danger because of her father to the fact that she had been missing for the last year, there had been a pause on the case. Hopefully now though that could resume with the fact that all parties had been apprehended, but where was Sam?

Leaving the young male to his own, the sixteen year old still fuming as his ice froze his bed to the floor, the parents of said teen left the room, the sound of it resounding in the silent room. Danny blinked, wondering if the people who had anonymously had given the tip to the police were the same ones that had robbed the place. His power flickered for a second as his mind went down that mindset. That meant that Sam was alive. Why call in on yourself, even if you didn't give your identity, to reveal that you had been in the home that had housed a kidnapper and his captive? They had to have talked to Sam, to know who she was once they saw her! Jeremy had been in a disguise, a bad one, but he had kept his head down so that meant that when the house had been robbed the people who had done it hadn't known of another occupant! There was just no other explanation. He frowned. If that was the case, then was the Goth still in that city?

Thinking about it for a minute he shook his head. No, she would have run... Had she found a way to get away? Would the thieves help her more than just releasing her from the house? She would have no money and the paperwork from the police had indicated that she hadn't appeared to have any clothing in the residence. That made him angry again at the thought that she was forced to walk around in the nude. Returning to his desk he made a call as he continued to look thru the reports that the police had written about the house that the Goth had been in for the last year.


	16. Chapter 16

Sam stepped off the bus hours later, her destination just about an hours drive from the Fentons and her own former home. She couldn't go back there, not with her father lurking around. He might think that if she didn't go to the Fentons that she would return to familiar ground and while that might have been a second choice if need be, she didn't want to step foot in that place unless she really had to. Then again, she wasn't sure what had happened to that house now that her mother had been killed and the blond had abandoned it. It would save her money, but she really doubted that she could live in the home without electricity or water. Sighing she walked down the street, unaware of anyone around her as she glanced around for a place to stay. This place was unfamiliar to her and while she could see that there were plenty of apartments and even some homes, there was little else save for stores.

Had she made a mistake in coming here instead of just going back to Amity where she knew more of her surroundings? While she hadn't been let out of the house she had still been able to view it from a few windows when her parents had been gone. The servants hadn't really worked hard to keep her from seeing the outside world, though they had never let her outside except in the backyard where she couldn't escape. After walking for a long while, the sun already setting overhead, she finally found a small motel and while it looked a bit run down there seemed to be no shady characters hanging out in the shadows. Touching her sunglasses she entered the lobby of the motel, an older male sitting behind the counter. He had his head down, his balding head exposed as he puffed away on a cigarette, the smoke flying back into his face from the position he was in. Moving to slowly stand about a foot or so from the counter she waited, the male either unaware of her being there or ignoring her and after all that she had dealt with in the last year, doing what another wanted when she was clearly disgusted and upset with said actions, she slammed her booted foot into the front of the counter. The male jumped, his brown hair shifting slightly as his matching eyes glared back at her.

"I want a room," she said, forcing herself to remain stern when her gut rolled at the flash of his brown orbs. "And I am sure as fuck that you need what income I have to keep this place afloat." She knew that after watching how her parents spoke to others that this was the only way that this male before her would do what she said. He seemed to feel that she was nothing and while she was sure it wasn't because of the way she was dressed, but what was under the clothing, she cared little for men at this point. Save for one and she couldn't go to him yet. He grumbled something under his breath but grabbed a key before slamming it on the counter.

"$45 a night." She pointed to the sign below him, the words on it reflecting that there was a price break for one week in the place. Nodding at her silent request he waited for her to dig out the money for the week. As he counted it she grabbed the key and headed off to find her temporary room for the week. It didn't take long to find the room and while she was a little upset with the couple that were in the room next to her, their voices raised in a heated argument, she could deal with that as long as they kept away from her. Unlocking the door she looked around the small space, a single bed by the wall with a bathroom on the other side of it with a small tv on a stand on the wall across from bed. Sighing she found that there was a small table with a single chair placed before it and with a bit of work she used the chair to secure the door. Even with the fact that the door locked and there was a chain, the Goth still felt insecure, worried that the man that ran the place would try and get in while she were sleeping. A yawn broke thru at that thought and laying down on the bed Sam found sleep rather easy, though it wasn't as restful as she would have liked.

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Danny yawned at the sun fell behind the horizon, his blue eyes looking rather red from all the time spent in front of the computer. While he still went to school, the halfa had spent the rest of the time behind his computer, going over the evidence and the words from all parties involved. It seemed that the police had begun to question a man on the dark web, the same man that had sold the wealthy blond the island where he was planning to keep the raven haired female. Danny was happy that while all that had gone down was horrible, that the house had not been complete for him to take her there. They would never had found her, and if they had it would already be too late. The small teen an adult that had lived in captivity... raped and used to birth children for the man who had been her father. No, she would have broken down, would have given up as he continued to use her! She was a strong female, her having already gone thru so much before he had saved her and now, now she had gone thru worse than that and she had managed to escape. While the news and his parents were unsure, the halfa was more than certain that the Goth he had known for only a few days, was a fighter and would be okay.

She could survive this. An alert beeped on his phone, so turning his eyes from the screen on his desk to the one in his hand he clicked on the alert, an alert on the case of the missing teen.

The police have now arrested a man known only as, Chernobog, in regards to the missing teen. He is has not admitted to selling a piece of property that Jeremy Manson, the teen's father, was intending to use as a prison for his only child. There is documents that prove otherwise, but at this time they are looking over those documents for the whereabouts of the island and the structure the wealthy male built on it. We will release that information as soon as it becomes available to us. Mr. Manson has of course denied these allegations, though he has admitted to a few vulgar acts against his daughter.

Blue eyes flashed to green at the fact that they was no information on the missing girl, the victim that was out on her own and as far as he knew without money. He needed to find her and while he would have to wait until after school tomorrow for that chance, he also knew that he would need more help in finding her. Suddenly he stiffened, the thought of what he could do never even occurring to him until this second. He smacked his face at his stupidity. The damned map that he had used to locate the blond male. While the Infi-map was only for use in the Ghost Zone, it could still take you to a natural portal that would bring you the closest to your target. Another yawn escaped his mouth. He would love to go and get it now, to get to Sam sooner, but he knew that he needed his sleep. His powers would be shit if he didn't sleep. Turning off his laptop and crawling into bed he passed out.

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Sam struggled to awaken, her eyes opening slowly, as if there were weights on her eyes. Groaning she turned over to find herself back in that house. Whimpering she looked down, her body naked and covered in marks, made by the mouth and nails of her captor while other marks were from the whip he used when he was in a mood. Grasping the sheet that lay in her lap she covered up just as the sound of his footsteps echoed in the hallway beyond her doorway. She felt a shudder go up her spine as she moved further back on the bed, the will to not run to the corner overrode by her promise, the promise that protected those that she cared about and one that she loved... "Love?" she whispered to the empty room just before her father appeared in the doorway. He wasn't alone. No, flung over his shoulder was a dark haired male. "No!" she cried, flinging herself forward even as she clung to her sheet. "I did what you asked! I-I didn't fight you!"

The male just smirked before saying, "I lied. He won't give up on finding you so I brought him to your side for one last goodbye." Tossing the teen on the ground he turned to her again. "Won't he love to enjoy a show before he dies?" She blanched at what he was implying. "And like always you will lay there, acting like such a good girl so he dies thinking that you lied to him. That you really enjoyed all the things I did you before and couldn't wait until we could go further." Her stomach rolled, watching in silence as he pulled out a needle and injecting the halfa with something he began to tie him up with a rope. After tying the male up he put duct tape over his mouth before dropping the limp male back onto the ground. Leaving he promised that he would be back soon.

Sam was torn. She wanted to go to his side, but another part of her was hoping that if she didn't act so upset that he would allow the halfa to leave. She knew that it wouldn't matter, that he would kill the raven haired teen to destroy her hope, her spirit dying with it so she really didn't react to his attentions. Pulling the sheet tighter she rushed to his side, her small hands grasping his shoulders to turn him over with his head in her lap. "Danny," she whispered, begging for the young male to open his eyes. Jeremy didn't know that the male was a half ghost, an advantage for Danny since he could at least escape before the blond came back. The halfa groaned as his eyes opened...

Danny found his vison clearing, the black blob now coming into focus, his eyes widening as he took in the pale face of the missing Goth! He tried to move, but found his arms bound, the look on her eyes full of sadness as she shook her head. "Danny, you have to go!" she whispered. He shook his head and while she wanted to take the gag off she knew that it would only make it worse for both of them. "He want to kill you!"

"Mmph mm mph mmph," he said, the words clear.

"You need to go and get help, the police or something." Neither noticed the sound of footsteps on the plush carpet, both concentrating on each other when they should have been listening for the monster that was coming.

"Ah, but that's too late," the blond stated as his shadow fell across them. Danny tensed, but his body wouldn't listen and he realized that he was paralyzed. Sam must have realized it at that same time because she moved back, dragging him with her. "He won't be doing anything for hours and by the time he can move he will be dead." His dark chuckle was the bell, the signal for his brand of fun to begin. Blue eyes widened as Sam was yanked out from under him, her cry the first of many as the halfa was forced to watch the male brutalize the small female. The blood that was spilt as she screamed now, her voice hoarse as she lay there. He could see that she was trying to halt her screams, but he was just so brutal in his actions. Danny felt his power surge, but only for a moment as whatever he had been shot with refused to allow him that...

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Danny sat up in his bed, sweat streaming down his face, his eyes green. What the hell had he just seen? It couldn't be what was happening now because the bastard was in jail and Sam was missing! "Damn," he hissed, his eyes closing as he tried to quell the anger that still burned in his chest. He was seeing something and while it might just be his own fears fueling the nightmare, he felt it was a memory of the raven haired female... a distorted memory, but a memory none the less. Or was he seeing her nightmare? His blue eyes opened at that thought, but blew it off. How could he do that? Noting that the clock showed that it was just after two in the morning, the halfa lay back down and found sleep seconds later.

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Sam mumbled something in her sleep as she continued to dream, fear making her break out in a sweat, but before she could finish the nightmare a loud 'thump' startled her awake. Her first thought was that sound was from the door, and rushing to stop before the object she jumped, the door rattling and the chair shaking. Not knowing who it was she lowed her tone, warning clear in her tone, she yelled out, "Get the fuck away from the door!" Another thump. "I will call the police!"

"There's no phone in there," a male voice rasped. Ah, so she had been right about the man behind the desk.

"I have my cell phone," was her response. He said nothing at first and so she said, "The phone is ringing." Still nothing, so waiting a few seconds she began to act like she was on the phone with a police operator. Giving them the address first, which still gave no indication of what the male on the other side of the door was thinking, but as he had not struck the door again she assumed he was waiting. She now gave out his description and his job title and he took the bait.

"Fine," he spat, though he grumbled something vulgar under his breath, and walked away. Breathing a sigh of relief she realized that she would need to leave before the end of the week, though she couldn't get the money back from him and she would need those funds. Glancing at the clock and noting that it was almost three in the morning, the raven haired teen turned on the TV, sure that she would need to be wary of the nighttime with what had just happened. Yawning she sat in the bed, her back resting against the pillow while her head rested against the wall. How long would she have to wait before she was truly free?

Just as she was dozing off a few minutes later a woman on the screen caught her attention. Her purple eyes wide, her red hair short, some of it held back with her red tinted goggles. "Maddie!" Reaching for the remote she turned it up to see why the ghost fighter was on the television.

*"Sam, he's been arrested and houses have been cleared. Please come home," the red head stated, moving to hold up a piece of paper. "We're your foster parents." Jack appeared at her side, his smile so bright.*

She was safe? It had been a long time since she had felt this elation, this burden lifted off of her... the fear that had kept her at such a standstill for so long. Then it hit her that they had to know what happened, right? They would have kept up with the search for her, if there was such a search... It was as if the Fates had decided that it would be that easy as her answer was given when the reporter was now before the camera.

*"After a year long search for the teen that went missing, all the criminals in this case have been thrown behind bars. This goes from just a person on the streets but to the very people sworn to protect as a DHS worker and several boys in blue are in jail on charges for acts against a minor. This is Rita Marga, back to you."*

She really was free, but now she had to find a way back to Amity and with just two hundred and fifty dollars left that either meant another bus or she was going to have to call a cab and without phone she had no way to do the second option. Exiting the room she left the key peeking out from the bottom of the door. She crept along the walkway, her eyes on the building far in the distance.


	17. Chapter 17

Sam moved quickly in the darkness and while she wasn't sure on the hours of the bus that she had taken here, she knew that she needed to get away from the motel. The male behind the counter, the same one that had tried to break into her room, was out to do something vile to her. She wasn't about to find herself in the same situation as before and so running across the street, she made sure to stay in the shadow, her amethyst eyes ever alert for the male. She wasn't sure if he had been waiting for her to leave her room or if he thought she would just fall asleep again. The Goth was relieved that she had placed the chair in front of the door, barring the male from entering her room. She could see why he had done it though. Here was a female, alone and obviously young so that made her easy prey in his eyes, just like her father had thought.

She made it to the bus station, the place silent save for a few people waiting around inside the building. She rushed to the door, ready to enter when she saw her face looking back at her from a poster on the glass. She could just tell the person in the ticket booth who she was and she would be taken back to the Fentons and as it was safe with all the people under her father and the man himself, behind bars she really debated it. It would be faster. Ripping the picture off the glass of the door she entered the large space. The light nearly blinded her from being in the dark for several hours, but she forced herself to move toward the person behind the glass of the booth. "Where do you need to go?" the brunette asked from behind the glass.

"I need you to call the police," Sam stated before holding up the flyer with her image on it. "I am the girl in this poster." The brunette squinted her eyes at the female before her, Sam removing her glasses to reveal her strange eye color, one that was very rare. The blue eyes of the woman behind the glass told the Goth that she believed her and moving quickly she grabbed her cell phone, calling the authorities for the teen before her. The Goth watched her, her mind racing with the thought that she was free, really free and soon she would be reunited with the family of the halfa who had saved her and while she was excited and happy, another part of her worried about how she would be treated because of what her father had done to her?

Even Maddie's words about it happening to others couldn't stop that shame, the fact that she had willingly allowed Jeremy to rape her repeatedly, never fighting back because she had believed his words about killing the Fenton family... because she wouldn't allow him to hurt the one that had saved her and the one that she had deep feelings for, but now... He wouldn't be able to look at her without seeing what had happened to her and while she knew that he wouldn't blame her for those disgusting things that had been done to her she couldn't make herself forget them. They would haunt her for life. What she failed to know about the male that had been her father, and the one that had held her, was that he had recorded it all...

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That morning Danny was heading for the Ghost Zone, his parents working down in the lab amazed at what he had told them and glad to know that there was another way to find the Goth. They had been unsure if she had seen the broadcast, the video being replayed not only over the air but also on the internet as several people shared the post to aid in finding the Goth and ensuring that she knew, wherever she was hiding, that she had people who loved her and were waiting for her to come home.

"Hopefully wherever it drops me off is close enough to her that I can bring her back quickly," the halfa stated, his green eyes flashing brightly at the fact that he would soon be reunited with the female he had saved. He had been so worried and angry over her going missing and the fact that the one who held her had abusing her before he had met her. With a quick 'goodbye' the halfa was off. His parents stood there, still worried about the fate of the missing Goth. There was still no word on her being alive or dead and while the people who had called in to report her father hadn't said a word about the state of the girl in question, they hadn't said if she was in the home either. Their musings were interrupted by Maddie's phone, the ringtone a loud one that echoed around the large space of their lab.

"Hello," the red head said, her face relaxing as the person on the other end filled her in on the whereabouts of the raven haired teen and after expressing her joy she hung up before turning to her husband. "They found Sam!" The hulking male smiled at the news. They had been worried that the small girl was dead, but to know that their son's belief concerning her fate, was correct was a comfort, but now the male was gone, heading to where she was. Jack rushed to the Spector Speeder, a contraption made to fly around in the real world and the Ghost Zone, and climbing in headed off to find their son and share the good news while Maddie rushed to head to the police station where Sam was being taken.

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The halfa was just about to Far Frozen when his father caught up with him, the horn nearly scaring the white haired male who had been unaware of his father following him. Turning around he raised a brow when he saw his father in the Speeder, but with a wave he continued onward to his destination. Maybe his father had wanted to help him, but this was a task that was better off being done alone. His father didn't stop following him, in fact the older Fenton male honked the horn several more times to get his attention.

"What?" he called back, stopping again to turn to his father. When his father's words were unclear from the distance the halfa went to the window of the driver side of the large vehicle. "Dad, I nee-"

"They found her!" his father crowed in triumph. The halfa's face relaxed, the thought that the young female had been found. He wanted to know if she was okay, but before his father could tell him a blast knocked the white haired male away from the ship. Jack turned to see a familiar face, the male having once been a friend. "Vlad!" he growled just as Danny recovered enough from his strike to float nearby, his green eyes glowing in warning to the enemy. Vlad had once been their mayor, his plans to use the ghosts to keep his role a thing of the past. He had revealed himself to the world, an attempt to gain favor as he talked about saving them from the large asteroid that had nearly decimated the planet. They had been sure he was in space, never to bother them again, but here he was now, glaring at them in a haughty manner.

"Thought you were done with me, little badger?" the older male inquired, more energy flickering in his hands. "Thought that I would never come back?!" The teen halfa glared up at the older one, sure that with the year that had just passed he was stronger than the dark haired male. "Seems that you under-" He was cut off as Jack blasted him with green goop, the substance coating the older halfa and shocking him moments later. "Oh, Jack, you buffoon!" Vlad spat. "I will enjoy ending your life as well as the brat you spawned and when you are dead I will take Maddie as my own!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Danny yelled back, anger giving his powers a boost. He didn't have time to deal with the obsessed halfa, not with Sam found and his need to see her, to know that everything was okay. That she was... that she was what? He knew that she had been raped, the bastard had admitted to it, and she was hurt... so was she okay? His mother had felt that she was strong and he believed that, but how do you help heal someone who has been hurt in more than just a physical sense? Throwing those thoughts to a space in the back of his mind he rushed to fight his enemy, to kill him if he needed to.

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Sam was sitting in an interrogation room, the officer across from her asking about how she had managed to escape the house that had held her for the last year. She wasn't going to lie, but she wasn't going to reveal the two people that had helped her. Beside her sat the wig, her own raven locks shorter than the ones of the wig. She ran her fingers thru her hair, the locks wet with sweat. She hadn't taken off the wig once since the woman had helped her put it on. She had been too afraid to do anything until she was in a safe place. The fear that, like the woman selling tickets, would see her coloring and capture her. That she would be forced back into the clutches of her rapist.

"Some robbers came to the house," the raven haired girl said, taking the glass of water that had been offered to her once she had reached the station. Taking a sip she set it back on the table. Her stomach protested to the water, the liquid not what the empty organ wanted. "and he was gone so when they headed up the stairs they broke the gate... I escaped."

"How were you able to leave the state so quickly when from what was in that room you had no clothing," the male stated, his partner entering with a couple cups of coffee. "There was no female clothing in the house." He hinted at her attire. "And yet you have female clothing on."

"Why does it matter?" she asked, her anger starting to coil around her heart. Why did it matter how she had gotten out of the house? It was because they wanted to capture the ones who had robbed the place. "I know that you want to catch them, but I can't tell you much about them anyway. They wore masks that covered their faces and the house was blacked out." The officer frowned at her tone, the slight hitch of her chin as her eyes flashed angrily. The experiences in that house had been dark, and while she was still very jumpy, she was also tired of them treating her like evidence to another crime. She was a victim and while she didn't like to think of herself like that, it was true. She was traumatized and ready to be where she felt comfortable, the only place that she knew she would feel safe, and these bastards were more concerned with a petty theft and that of the man who had killed several people, raped his child, and killed his wife!

"We just want to do our job," the partner stated, her green eyes tinted with brown. "They may have been the ones to free you, but they still st-"

"From a murder? A rapist? A pedophile?" They glanced at each other, aware that while what she said could very well be true, but the simple fact was that she wasn't going to spill on those that had gotten her out of that house. They had seen the pictures and heard about the island that he had wanted to keep this same girl, they could see why she was angry and while they would love to drop it, they were only doing their job to aid the officers in Kansas where she had been kept. It may not be their case, but they were aiding their own. "Hell, I heard that some of your own were in on what happened to me!" Now her voice was raising, the anger at how she had been treated from the moment she came into the world to this point, making that emotion rise. "The people who are supposed to protect people, the child that I was, from such things happening!"

Maddie stood behind the glass, watching the pale face of the Goth turn red, her eyes narrowed as she released all her feelings onto the two people before them. She felt for the girl. All this could have been avoided. The door next to her opened to reveal Jack and Danny, the halfa looking a little worn out, but worried. His blue eyes turned to the glass his mother stood before. He had heard of the two way glass from all the murder mystery shows he liked to watch and with the next outburst of the raven haired teen, the halfa came to stand before it in confusion and relief at the rather feisty female. She had never been like that, not when he had saved her. It seemed that her capture had not broken her... in fact it seemed to have unleashed all that had kept her so shy and quiet. The girl who had feared her shadow had become a woman with the attitude to fight against that that once caused her to tremble.

"Hell, if you had just let me stay with the Fentons I would have not have been taken and..." she faltered, her body stiffening. "I would not have been violated in such a way! How would you like to be forced to walk around naked, if you could walk around, unable to hide your shame. To know that the reason you were forced to be in a state of undress was so that your captive had easy access to what he considered his!?" The pair leaned away from her, her small hands flat on the table as she glared at them. "To be kept in a cold house so you didn't have the power to even try and escape!? Hell, I was lucky if I ate anything in a weeks time!"

"Oh my god," his mother muttered, a tear escaping her eye while Jack fisted his hands in frustration. To think that you would ever be a witness to such a cruel fate. It was one thing to see such horrible things spoken about after the fact, a screen keeping it impersonal save for the feels you had for that victim. Danny could feel his own emotions rising, the regret of not killing the male behind this growing stronger. He wished he had blown the male to pieces like he had done to Vlad just before they got here. He had used the other halfa as a stand in for the real piece of trash that he wanted to kill. Though Maddie had been behind the glass for longer than the other two, she had no idea what had set the small female off.

"What did they say?" The red head shook her head at her husband with a simple 'I don't know'.

"How about knowing that if you didn't do what was commanded of you that the person causing you all that pain held the lives of others in his hand?" Neither said anything. "Yeah, how would it feel to know that what he threatened was no only a threat but nothing for him to baulk at? He had done it already!" That was news. They hadn't thought she had been aware of the killings as she had said nothing to them about that. "I thought they were only nightmares, but when he told me he killed my mother..." she faded off with a shake of her head. "I knew they were memories that I had blocked... I saw it happen just once. That was all it took to remind myself never to follow your father's angry words with anyone." She shuddered. "So, when a burglary is more important than a real victim..." She left it at that, the three people behind the glass growing angry. Maddie was the first to move, her small frame disappearing out into the hallway before the appeared in the room with Sam and the two officers.

"Are you ready to go?" the red head asked, the Goth surprised to see her appear nodding. Grabbing the small girl's hand the two women left. "Good day," the ghost fighter spat as the door closed. Jack smirked with Danny, the pair quite proud of the two females, before following the two females out of the station.

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Sam didn't say a word when they got to the car. She sat silent next to the halfa in the back seat, her eyes cast downwards and even when they finally got home she still remained silent. Danny watched her the whole way, wondering on what he should say to her to let her know how he felt about her. He didn't know what to say to let her know that no matter what he would always be there for her, that he cared enough about her to know the story of darkness and see the light that outshone the darkness. He looked at his parents and with a smile they walked away. The halfa hadn't expected that reaction. He turned back to the Goth, the straight posture of the small female telling him that she was afraid, but while he knew she no longer had anything to fear from her father, he knew that that was not what the fear was from. She was afraid of how he would look at her. That was easy to see.

She had been stuck to him, trusting him without knowing him, the connection strongest between the two of them. He took her hand and drew her over to the couch, the sounds of his parents in the lab a faint sound in the otherwise silent room. Once they were sitting on the large piece of furniture he turned to her, his hand still holding hers, but now he grabbed the other one. "Sam, do you mind if we talk?" She said nothing. "You don't have to talk, but I want to tell you something important." She nodded, though her eyes still stayed downcast.


	18. Chapter 18

"I know what happened, you know, with your parents," the halfa stated, his hand itching to reach out and touch her, to show her that she was not tainted. He felt that that was how she felt. He had read a few books in Jazz's room after she had been abducted and had done some research online to assist him in understanding the situation that the Goth had found herself in. She said nothing to him, staying silent as she waited for him to say more. "I know that your father, well, the man who was in the role of your father, touched you in ways that are disgusting, but that doesn't make you dirty." She looked up at him, her short hair not allowing her to hide as her eyes locked with his for a moment.

"Danny, I am disgusting," she muttered, her eyes going down again as she released the breath that she had been holding. "I didn't like what he did to me, but when he-" she shuddered. Sensing the disgust with herself and with the male who had defiled her, the halfa reached out to pull her into his arms, her body tensing for a moment before she began to struggle.

"Sam, no matter what happened," he murmured, his face pressed into the crook of her neck. She gulped at the feeling of his warm breath on her skin, but it wasn't a bad feeling, no, it felt right and while she was enjoying him holding her she still felt so dirty and that by him even being close to her, that she was tainting him. "I do not see you as anyone, but Sam... a strong, beautiful, and smart girl." She stilled at his words so he continued, knowing that he was saying the right things, the words that she needed to hear from him. "You did things that you didn't want to do and even then you were strong. You are beautiful, even if you don't think so, I know so." He pulled back to look at her, her eyes wide as tears glistened in the corner of her eyes. "You are smart enough that you managed to escape. Sam, you are going to be okay and while I can't imagine how it felt to be where you were, I know that it will haunt you for years to come, but know that whenever you find yourself hurting, or unable to cope with those feelings and images, I will be here to wipe your tears away and I will protect you from all of it."

"You really mean that," she whispered. She could feel his sincerity. She could see it in his bright blue eyes and hear it in his words. He was willing to be by her side, even knowing that she had been touched, but he didn't even know that she had been deflowered, her body used and discarded. She pushed him back, her hands resting on his chest. "You can't mean it though, not when you don't know the whole story. I am unclean and never ca-"

"I know about the time spent in the house, the things that happened," was his response, her amethyst eyes growing wide. Had he heard her rage at the officers? "I know because I was the one that caught him and he was proud of it, telling us that you were a willing participant... and that you asked him to do it..." He faded off as the look in her wide eyes changed from shock to disgust, but he wasn't aware that she felt that disgust for both of them. For her and for Jeremy. He had lied about that last part, but she hadn't fought him and while that didn't mean she was a willing person in the act, she still hadn't pushed him away.

"I don't want to talk about it," she muttered, moving to stand up, but Danny wasn't about to let her hide. He reached for her hand, but the Gothic female reared back, keeping herself at a distance. "I just want to be left alone." He wasn't able to respond as she rushed off toward his room, but the raven haired girl didn't enter his room, no, she ran past it toward the guest room just past Jazz's own room. The door clicked behind her, the sound loud to him as he fell back with a sigh. She wasn't going to let him in at this moment and while it hurt that she didn't seem to trust him, he knew that with whatever had gone on in that home, save for the rape and starvation tactics that Sam had told the officers in that interrogation room, that there was more information missing.

He could see the nightmare he had had recently, the look on Sam's face as Jeremy yanked her away from him... him powerless to stop the older male from raping the raven haired teen. Her screams still echoed around in his head as he was forced to watch the blood that spilt with each blow the male landed as he continued to ravage the small female. 'Was that really a nightmare?' he asked himself. 'He had never been to the home, only had seen pictures of it and while that might influence his subconscious, the rest of it seemed like it was real, the threat of death to him and the fear that came from Sam as she tried to silence her screams of pain. Sighing again he headed for his own room, hoping that the police had gathered more evidence on what had happened in that home to make the female in the guest room act like she was truly a bad person, that she was unlovable and at the same time he hoped to never find out because he knew that like that time he had listened to the words of abuse on the recorder... He was ready to kill someone, someone who had hurt the girl he loved. 'Love?' Did he love her? How could you love someone that you hadn't known all that long? Was it love or was it just his protective instincts kicking in for the Goth?

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That night as Sam slept down the hall, the halfa found himself in that same dream as before, but he was looking at that doorway in the house, the one that had been Sam's room...

Danny sat in the corner of the room, his blue eyes taking in the small space, his gaze finding the Goth on the bed with her eyes closed. Was she sleeping? He wanted to go to her side, to check on her, but he found himself unable to move, his whole body locked in place as he watched her move, a pained groan come from the same direction. She sat up and the halfa found his anger rising, the feeling of his powers trying to flicker around him at the appearance of her body. He should feel ashamed for taking it all in, but at that moment all he could see were the marks... She whimpered as she too looked at the nail marks, the teeth marks... long red whelps that the halfa couldn't place. She grabbed the sheets sitting across her lap she covered up, but Danny could still see them... they were burned into his vision and his brain. The halfa turned as he heard the footsteps of someone, more than likely Jeremy, come from the hallway.

His gaze flickered over to her for a split second as she whispered, "Love?" It sounded like she was questioning this love and while he was curious as to whom she was speaking of, his eyes turned back to the doorway as Jeremy did indeed appear, but he wasn't alone. There was a body thrown over his shoulder, the dark haired male gaping as he realized that the body over the blond's shoulder was his own. "No!" Sam cried out as she flung herself before the older male, her sheet flying behind her small form as she landed on the floor before him. "I did what you asked! I-I didn't fight you!"

She had complied with his demands? She didn't fight him? He couldn't understand why she would do that? Danny watched at the male smirked down at her, his eyes a cold blue.

"I lied. He won't give up on finding you so I brought him to your side for one last goodbye." Tossing the teen on the ground he turned to her again as Danny soon found out the sick plans for the Goth and for him. "Won't he love to enjoy a show before he dies?" She blanched and the halfa found himself growling, though he was sure that neither occupant could hear him. "And like always you will lay there, acting like such a good girl so he dies thinking that you lied to him. That you really enjoyed all the things I did you before and couldn't wait until we could go further." He pulled out a needle and injecting the halfa with something he began to tie him up with a rope. After tying the male up he put duct tape over his mouth before dropping the limp male back onto the ground. The raven haired teen watched as the teen before him sat there, her eyes so full of confusion, fear, worry... And finally whatever hope she had died, the darkening of her eyes as she moved to grab his prone body. She whispered his name as she lay his head in her lap...

Danny opened his eyes, the sweat from the previous nightmare coating his skin as he lay there, his mind going over what he had seen. How could she have just laid there and allowed the male to do that to her?

"I did what you asked! I-I didn't fight you!"

He had asked her to comply, but what would make someone lay down and take such abuse? He couldn't seem to wrap his head around that thought.

He won't give up on finding you so I brought him to your side for one last goodbye.

She had fought this time, her screams had proven that she had not wanted him to rape her, that she had not been compliant in the abuse... at least not this time. He had even implied that before this time, before he raped her in front of the bound halfa, that she laid there, acting like she really enjoyed it so that meant that his being there was part of that agreement. What had she agreed to?

Maddie entered the guest room, the Goth laying in the bed passed out, though her small body was covered in sweat as she whimpered in her sleep. The red head moved closer to the bed, careful not to startle the small female before sitting down on the edge closest to the door. Reaching out she touched the pale girl's forehead, the simple touch ripping a scream out from the lips of the Goth as she sat up, her body immediately on alert as she scrambled backward, her body hitting the headboard. The wide gaze of amethyst was dazed as Sam stared at the woman before her, the doorway behind her being blocked as Jack stood there, his own eyes wide in confusion to the reaction of the teen.

"Sam, it's okay," the ghost hunting female promised. The raven haired female blinked at the voice, her eyes clearing up as she curled up.

"It's not okay," the teen muttered. "You shouldn't touch me...I-I'm not clean." Maddie couldn't understand what she meant so she pointed to a door at the end of the bed, telling the girl that it was the bathroom if she wanted to get cleaned up and that they still had some of the clothing that they had bought her. She nodded, not correcting what the older woman believed she meant by her comment. "Thank you, Maddie, but could I just be left alone for now?" The parents of Danny nodded and after leaving the room, the door closing behind them, the Goth sighed as she curled up further, the blankets wrapped tightly around her. Would she ever be able to allow others near her? She didn't think so. There was no way she would ever allow anyone to be tainted by her.

Looking at the clock next to her bed she laid back down, the red numbers indicating that Danny was already gone, the halfa having gone to school hours before. She forced her eyes closed as she allowed her body to slip off to sleep. It didn't take long, though like before it wasn't a restful sleep.

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Later that afternoon the halfa returned, Tucker in tow. The pair headed for his room, the raven haired ghost fighter stopping at the top of the stairs, his blue gaze on the closed door where Sam was still sleeping. His mother had told him to leave her alone, that she was still getting used to being free of the male that had held her captive for those twelve months. While he stood there the techno-geek headed for the computer in Danny's room and began to work his brand of magic, hacking. It didn't take long for him to pull up what he had found, but once he realized that the halfa wasn't with him he stood up to see where Danny was.

"Danny, I have the answers to your questions," the dark skinned male stated, but Danny didn't even react, his eyes glued to the door, hoping that the small raven haired female that lay in that room would come out. He missed her, had since she had been kidnapped, but to know that she was just down the hall and he wasn't able to see her, to comfort her, was driving him crazy. "Danny!" his friend called again, this time coming out into the hall to pull the raven haired halfa into the room before shutting and locking the door. Danny raised a brow at this. He had confided to the other teen the reaction of Sam to his words the day before and the techno-geek had worked during lunch to find the information regarding the house that Sam had been kept in and had found something that he had said would be better viewed in the privacy of the halfa's room.

Danny followed his friend to the desk, the dark skinned male sitting down before the screen which now revealed a familiar room. It was the same room that Sam had been kept in! It was a video of the small space where the pair of males could see the raven hair of Sam peeking out from under the sheets that shook slightly as Tucker pushed the button to play it, a warning that he hadn't seen it yet. "In fact, while I am at it, I don't think I want to see it," Tucker muttered at the look on the halfa's face. He was pissed off, the thought that the blond male had recorded the violence that he had done to the female. He didn't want to Tucker to see the naked Goth, her small whimpers so faint that at first the halfa thought he was hearing things.

Tucker got up quickly and sitting on the bed turned his back on the image playing on the screen as Danny forced himself to watch the image before him...

Jeremy walked into the room, his eyes falling on the Goth hiding under the sheets, before approaching her hidden form. As soon as he was standing before the bed, the halfa could see the black whip in the older male's hand, the long spine dragging on the carpet. "Oh, Samantha," he said, his tone cold and yet you could hear the excitement he was feeling having power over the girl. It was night outside the window, but it appeared like all the lights were on, the hallway lit up and Sam's room brightly lit. There wasn't a single shadowed corner, everything as exposed at the raven haired teen. "You don't want to play?" he asked. "Maybe your little boyfriend would like to join in on the fun?" The Goth sat up, the blankets moving off of her face as she revealed her head.

"Y-Yes, I want-t to play," she muttered, her lips twitching as she forced a smile on her face. Anyone could see that it was just barely staying, her lips fighting to stay in the pleasant façade even as she shivered.

"Oh, is Samantha cold?" he asked, the whip coming out from behind his back as he towered over her. She tried to force herself to stay still, but she couldn't seem to stop the small shakes taking over her body. "Stop shivering," he said, his voice soft and calm. Danny could see the fire flicker in her amethyst orbs before she whispered something to him. "What did you say to me?!" he growled, the whip coming down to strike her legs, blood immediately seeping thru the white sheets. Danny noted that there were dark spots littering the sheets that Sam still held to her body, the fire dying in her eyes, or at least dimming.

"I'm sorry, m-my master," she said, her form still slightly shaking while she tried to remain calm. He could see the fear in her eyes, but in that fear was hope. She was still hopeful, but when the halfa looked down at the bottom of the screen he could see that the date revealed that this was just after she had been abducted. How many times had she gone thru this? How many times had she been struck with the whip in his hand.

"Good," he muttered while is free hand began to work on his pants, the halfa feeling disgust well up in him, his stomach warning him that it would blow if he watched this video, if he watched the teen just down the hall being violated, but he couldn't turn away. He forced himself to view it, to watch as the blond forced the raven haired girl to perform fellatio on him, her body shuddering in disgust as her eyes welled with tears. As she was doing this, the male was brandishing the whip, each strike making the raven haired male wince in the imaginary pain he could feel twitch across his body. Sam was trying so hard not to bite down at the pain inflicted on her. The blond groaned, his body tensing, but before she could finish he thrust her away from him, the whip tossed to the side as he assaulted the teen female.

Tucker was still on the bed, the sounds and words filling his own brain, the imagery something he was glad he wasn't watching, but he worried for the other teen as the sound continued to play for another five minutes before a growl of rage was heard, the power coming off the halfa so powerful that the whole room was frozen in a matter of seconds. The ice that surrounded the males gleamed, the techno-geek risking a glance at Danny to find the halfa standing before the frozen screen, the image reflecting back was of Sam again curled up under the blankets, fresh blood bleeding thru the sheets.


	19. Chapter 19

Danny stormed out of his room, his eyes still glowing green as he walked downstairs. He was beyond pissed off, his rage still burning in his veins as he continued to see the images from the one video, the words burned into his brain and replaying in his head. He had known she had been raped, he knew that she had been assaulted, but that bastard had been holding something over her... He had been using someone close to the Goth for his blackmail. It was easy to see that the boyfriend was himself, the only male that Sam had even allowed near her, but for some reason he couldn't wrap his head around why Sam would allow herself to be harmed and defiled by the older male just for him. He could protect himself, as was evident by the nightmare where she had wanted him to escape, to leave her behind so that he could get help. It wasn't because she didn't trust him to protect her, no, she had been afraid for him.

She would rather take that abuse, the whip and the disrespect of being made to walk around without a way to cover up then put him in danger. It was disgusting to think that she had gone thru all of that and for him! He wanted to rage at her, to scream about how he would never have allowed her to be taken and treated like that, that he would have protected her. She should have given him the chance, but she had been taken from their home for her protection. He scoffed as Tucker approached him from behind, his friend still uneasy about how angry the halfa was. He wanted to castrate the older male for what he had done and to think that Jeremy had wanted to impregnate the teen in the room upstairs. That he wanted to keep her in a home that would be her lifelong prison.

"Danny, man, I know that you're pissed off and I didn't even see what you saw," the dark skinned male stated, still keeping as far from the halfa as possible. "You have to know that you getting angry isn't going to make it better." He looked upstairs, his eyes sad when he thought of all that the female in that room had endured, before and after her capture and before Danny had saved her. He had been worried about Danny saving her, but he could see now that had he not done that rather bold move, that Sam would have been dead to all of it. She would have still been in that home, those years possibly the ones that would break her for Jeremy to use without a fight. Because the halfa had interfered with those plans Sam wasn't broken and had taken the chance to escape when it was presented to her. She had been strong enough to endure all of it and come out with scarring, but she would survive with a brighter future ahead of her.

"I am not pissed off," the halfa spat, his tone cold. "I am imperially pissed! I am so passed pissed that I don't know how to even explain it." He balled his hands into fists, one of his fists glowing bright green. "We could never understand," the halfa spat, his voice so low that only Tucker could hear it, but the ice that appeared below the halfa would attract the attention of the adults in the lab just below them. "He was keeping her in line with the threat of something she wouldn't allow to happen."

"The guy he was referring to," Tucker stated, his brow rising. He had wondered about that since the girl in question had been kept away from others, save for those in her parents circle. "That part doesn't ma-" The halfa's body tensed and the technophile got it. Jeremy had been talking about Danny. He had been threatening the Goth with Danny's life.

"I had a nightmare," Danny stated just as the front door opened, his back to it now as he looked at his friend. Tucker could see the emotions flickering in his bright green eyes. He could see how torn up the halfa was, his human form still standing before him even as his ghost side surfaced in his eyes. "I was taken into that house, placed before Sam as she was in the video..." he faded off, another door opening next to the front door, but Danny didn't hear either of them, his mind on that nightmare that had haunted him even in the daylight. "I thought that it was because of what I had seen from those images of the house, but it was like I was there with her." Silence. Tucker couldn't say anything, the other three people in the room also in shock at what they were hearing. "Then with that footage that he recorded." The ice around Danny began to grow quickly, spreading towards the four others around him as his anger grew. No one noticed the girl that had been standing there, watching them from nearly the beginning of it all.

"You figured out that the nightmare was more than a nightmare," Tucker stated.

"It wasn't a memory since I had never been to that house, but it was something because I was forced to sit there, bound at the end of the b-bed," his eyes closed for a moment, his vision blurring. "Watching as she fought. I had to listen to her scream-m." His eyes opened back up, the green gone as the blue of his eyes was now bright blue, his ice spiking up around him as a tear escaped from his eyes only to freeze against his cheek. The sound of someone choking on a sob brought all eyes upward, the sight of Sam staring at them, her eyes wide and her hand covering her mouth, forcing Danny to power down in shock. "Sam." The raven haired girl backed up, her eyes still wide and reflecting confusion and unease at his words. He rushed after her as the small female took off for her room. She slammed the door on his face and while he wanted to go into the room via his intangibility he stood outside the door, the only sound from the other side of the door the harsh breathing of Sam. He knocked on the door, his voice soft as he asked her to let him in.

"No," was her response, a broken tone to her voice.

"You know I could come in despite you saying no," the halfa stated. No response from the Goth behind the door. "I don't want to do that, but you know I can." The sound of her moving behind the door hit his ears just before the door cracked open to reveal the teen, her eyes locking with his blue ones. She stepped back and allowed him him into the dark room before shutting the door behind him, the small female quick to lock the door behind him. "I know that you didn't want me to know." She stepped away from him, her eyes adverted. "I see why you didn't want anyone to know and yet, I can tell that you were more bothered by me seeing it."

"I didn't want you to see it anymore than anyone else," she muttered. He moved toward her, the small raven haired teen stepping further back, her back just inches from corner of the room closest to the door.

"Sam, I can't even imagine how you felt at that moment, but I don't think any less of you because of it."

"You're pissed off because of him, but I know that you're just as pissed off at me," was her response, her eyes still refusing to meet his. It hurt that she couldn't even look at him, that him knowing and seeing what she had been trying to keep close to her vest. The true horror that she had dealt with for a year. "And don't try and deny it." He sighed. She knew she was right and there was no use denying it.

"I am mad at you, but not because of wh-"

"You're mad because I put you in a position that was unfair to you," she said, cutting him off as she finally looked at him, her eyes so full of guilt. He took another step closer to her, the small female taking another step back, her body as far in the corner as she could get. "I allowed him to use you to keep me captive." He reached for her, the Goth trying to push him back, her little hands on his chest so weak.

"Not mad at you for putting me anywhere," he said softly as he pulled her into his arms. She struggled against him at first before allowing the halfa to hug her to him. His heart was beating wildly under her ear as she stood there, her body so stiff he was afraid that she would break. "I'm mad because you didn't believe in me, that I could protect you." A sniffle came from the girl in his arms. "I would have come for you sooner, but I couldn't find you and for that I am mad at myself." Her muffled voice was the response he got. Pulling back slightly he looked down at her. "What?"

"You couldn't stop it," she muttered, her eyes downcast again. He moved one of his hands to place a single finger under her chin and with just a bit of pressure forced her to look up at him. There were tears in her eyes. "You did more than anyone else did for me. You didn't even know me or my story, but you came back for me anyway."

"Sam, I knew the moment I saw you on the ground that you needed help," was his response. She shook her head.

"Even your friend was against you even being on my side of the wall." She looked down again. "You could have reacted like he did and walked off." He forced her to look back up at him, his eyes drilling into hers.

"There is no way that I would have done that, even if I hadn't seen how your mother treated you. I would have come back for you because I knew that we were connected in some way." He was being completely honest with her. While he had been sidetracked by his crush, this teen before him had been spilling her guts, hoping that his help could lead her to a safe space. While his act had spared her from years of torment at the hands of both of her parents before Jeremy could take her away for his own pleasure, he had brought her to that act faster. He had handed her over to the man who had wanted to rape her and use her as his own personal incubator.

"Don't ever blame yourself," she said before wrapping her arms around him, her own body heat mixing with the chill of his own body. "It was bound to happen with him having so many people on the inside." He didn't want to believe it, wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't come into his life. He had seen his own share of evil in the world, but this was a different kind of evil. Vlad was a force that he dealt with, hell, even Skulker had his own darkness, but this was a darkness that while he had heard of it, had never been front seat to it. He had never thought that it could be that close to home and now, now it had affected someone who had come into his life because of it.

"As long as you don't blame yourself," he stated, hugging her tighter. When she didn't respond he kissed the top of her head, the short hair on her head tickling his nose. "I don't want ask for much, but I want you to understand that you are not to blame for one sick man's actions." Finally she nodded. "And I will prove that to you every day." Leaning back again he smiled at her, his eyes reflecting the affection he had for her, the feelings of love that shone back at her causing her to smile back at him. "Now, what happened to your hair?" She giggled, all the dark thoughts pushed away by the male holding her. "Were you going for the pixie look?" She shook her head.

"The people who helped me cut it so that I could wear a wig." He blinked at her response before she explained what had transpired the night that she had escaped. He was floored that the people who had robbed the place had really done what the had thought. They hadn't just released her from her cell, but they had ensured that no one could find her while reporting the male to the police. They had given her a chance when they could have just walked away.

"See," he said before pulling her back into a hug. "It wasn't just me who took one look at you and extracted you out of the darkness." Her smile broadened against his chest, his own widening as she realized that there were others out there like him, ones that knew how to take the hand of one in so much darkness and lead them out into the light.

"You were the first one to save me from the darkness," the Goth whispered, her head turning toward him, both of them staring into each other's eyes. The halfa looked down into her face for only a few seconds before his head dipped down to kiss her, his lips touching hers so softly that at first it seemed like an illusion, her amethyst eyes wide before they closed and she pushed herself upward to press fully against him. He pulled back from her, a look of surprise on both their faces.

"I will always protect you, Sam. I will always be the one that is holding your hand when the darkness tries to drag you back down." The raven haired girl smiled at him, love in her eyes as she laid her head back on his chest with a soft sigh.


	20. Chapter 20

The next several weeks were filled with unease for the family of ghost fighters as they kept up with the case against Jeremy, his murders and the captivity and abuse of his child. Sam seemed to have good days and bad days, her moods all over the place as they waited to hear what would be happening with her father. She would have to testify and while she didn't want to do it, she knew that it was the only way to ensure that he would go away for a long time. Maddie was in the kitchen when she got the call that would get that ball rolling. "Hello?" Danny walked into the kitchen just as she answered her phone, the halfa coming down to grab a few things to eat while Sam lay asleep in his bed, the small Gothic female having one of her bad days. "Oh, okay." He raised a brow at her frown, her lips tightening into a line as she listened to the person on the line. "So, a week from now?" More talking. "Okay. Thanks. I will let her know."

"She has to do it that soon?" the raven haired teen inquired the moment his mom hung up the phone. She nodded, looking rather worried. "Can they not use the tapes from the questioning?"

"No, they need her to talk about it so the jury can see," was her response. "I'm just worried that she's not ready to do that yet." Danny could see that. Not that the young girl wasn't strong, but she had just gotten out of that year long abuse only to be forced to relive it. While she was having nightmares about the abuse, she had Danny with her to help her get thru it. It was also a private moment that only he saw, this would be before several people, all of whom were strangers. "I guess I should tell her so that she has time to prepare, not that I think anyone can be prepared for that." That's when it struck Danny that he could help the teen with this, well, his ghost half could help her. Smiling he told his mother that he would talk to her about it.

"I have a plan to make it a bit easier for her," he said before heading to the fridge to grab items to make a salad for Sam and a sandwich for him. His mother now raised a brow, but trusted that her son knew what he was talking about. After all, Sam trusted him the most, though they had been worried about the pair after the confrontation the other day and the fact that Danny had blown up about the information concerning Sam's captivity. When Maddie had heard from Tucker about what was on the video that had made the halfa blow up, she could understand. Jeremy hadn't just abused and raped her, no, he had forced her to play the part of a willing captive. He had made her tell him that she wanted it. Going back to making the meal for later that night the ghost fighter thought about how that day would go, the worry still gripping her heart.

Danny was in the same boat, though he figured that if he went intangible and stood by her side would help, he was still worried about how much he could take with her. He felt so helpless when she had a nightmare, or when she refused to leave his room, only staying in bed for the most part and sleeping. He also still had to go to school and that caused a bit of a problem when it came to leaving her alone. She trusted his family, but she wasn't as comfortable with them as she was with him around. He seemed to sooth her torment, but sometimes even he wasn't enough. She would return to the guest rooms on those days and while that had only happened a couple of times the first few weeks, he was still concerned that she would never be able to make it thru this darkness that seemed to fall over her. He knew that she would have a hard time dealing with it, but he had assumed that he could truly help her. His mom had even suggested that she go to a therapist, but the Goth was adamant that she could do it with the help of the halfa.

He loved her, that wasn't hard for him to figure out and while he had never believed in love at first sight, he found that his feelings for her were more powerful than the crush he had on the Ice Queen of Casper High. He cared about her wellbeing, went as far as he could to help her and felt her own emotions at times. It was a strange feeling to know the feelings of someone who had gone thru such abuse, but like that one nightmare before, he could feel it. There were nights that he shared in those nightmares, the feeling of being unable to fight back, to watch as she was torn in two by the older blond male. There were even nightmares where he was her, taking that pain himself so that she wouldn't have to, but even then he awoke to her whimpering in her sleep. She didn't cry, no, Sam tried to hold it in, as if she were still there tying to be a good captive so that she could protect him. He knew that was why she didn't cry out, that she kept it bottled in and for that reason he almost wanted her to see a therapist, but then he would see the shame in her gaze and knew that while she was feeling a bit better about him knowing that abuse, she didn't want to talk to others about it.

Taking the food he headed upstairs to find said Goth twisted in the sheets, her face pale with sweat dripping down from her short raven locks. She was whimpering, little sounds that were forced out of her tight lips as she tried to hold them in. Dropping the food off on his desk the halfa went to her side, sitting down on the edge of the bed, ready to wake her from the nightmare when he paused to watch her for a moment. He decided to do what his sister had said when Sam was having a nightmare, to get her more open to fighting them from within. Touching her forehead, his hands chilly against her clammy skin. "Sam," he whispered. The small female let out another whimper, but turned toward him in her sleep, seeking his presence. "He can't hurt you anymore. He's in jail." She stopped moving for a moment, a tear coming down from under her eyelid as they shifted. "I would never let him get you. If he came anywhere near you I would stop him." She seemed to calm a little bit more, her body relaxing at his voice, his words reaching into her subconscious. "You have seen my powers, Sam. I would freeze him on the spot." She moaned softly now, her eyes opening slowly, her gaze dazed in her sleepy state.

"D-Danny," she whispered, her voice husky with sleep. He smiled at her, still touching her forehead before his fingers moved over her scalp, the raven locks being forced back for a moment before popping right back into place. Her stomach rumbled, her cheeks flushing as he chuckled.

"Hungry?" She nodded, the halfa grabbing their food while she sat up. They ate in silence, the Goth still waking up from the nightmare that had been plaguing her while Danny was trying to figure out how he was going to tell her that she would have to face the male that had given her those nightmares. "Sam, I have some good news and some bad news." She stopped eating, the fork stopped mid bite. When she didn't say anything he decided to dive right in. "His trial is next week." She started to smile, happy to have it coming to an end. All the worries about having to wait to know if he would be going away forever or if he would get only a few years... "You will have to testify." The smile drooped, her eyes growing wide as fear flickered in them. He placed his plate on the bed, his hand coming out to touch her knee. She whispered something so softly that he had to ask her to repeat it.

"I-I don't know if-f I can do it," she muttered.

"You won't be doing it alone," he promised. "I will be right there at your side, holding your hand just like I promised you." She looked unsure about that, the question of whether he would be allowed to stand up there with her reflecting back at him. He explained his plan, the fact that no one would know that he was there except for her. "I don't know if that is a good idea." He raised a brow at her words, confused at why she wouldn't want him to be at her side. Did she not trust him to keep his promise? Then again, the first time he had promised her that he would keep her safe, he had failed.

"If you don't wa-" She placed her bowl on top of his plate, her hands coming out to grasp the one on her knee as she shook her head.

"I do want you there," she said, her voice so soft and so forceful at the same time, as if she wanted him to understand what she was trying to say. She was worried about how he would react to having to watch her talk about that time spent in that house. She knew that he was upset by what he had seen, the fact that she hadn't even been aware of the recording equipment in the room. She felt the shame again, the thought that while she had thought that torment would only be for her to relive and now to know that he had recorded it... It made her sick with the knowledge that he had wanted, or he had, to watch it over and over, to see her at her most vulnerable. "I'm...I'm concerned for you." Blinking he realized that she had known his own worry, the fact that he couldn't stop his reaction to her pain, to her abuse at the hands of the monster who had kept her for a year.

"It's so weird," he murmured as he stroked her hand, the small teen raising a brow at him. "It's like you can read my thoughts, that you know my own fears and worries." She smiled now. She understood that. He did the same thing with her. He knew what to say and how to react when she hadn't said a thing to indicate her own feelings. "I promise that I will stand by your side, that I will hold your hand and try not to kill the bastard." She nodded. They could do this together. They could help her face her tormentor and with him by her side she knew that she would be strong enough to look Jeremy in the eyes and retell the horrible things that had been done to her.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The week went by rather quickly for Danny, most of his time spent at school while Sam was taken to the courthouse to speak about the facts of the case so there wouldn't be any surprises and while she seemed okay talking about it... Danny found that when he got home she was more reclusive. Every day was a bad day for her after spending all that time with the prosecution. His parents went with her, sitting in the room as the questions were asked to help keep her calm. They were concerned with how it would go down on the day when she had to speak before the jury and the courtroom gallery. When the day finally came Danny found the Goth hiding under the blankets of his bed, sleeping in the fetal position.

"Sam," he called as he entered the darkened room, the curtains drawn to keep the light out as she slept. She groaned in response, though he could tell that she was asleep as she turned over, a whimper escaping her lips. He moved closer, his steps light as he tried not to startle her. That would not be the right way to start what was to be a very taxing day for both of them. Stopping by the bed he did what he always did when she was having a bad day. He sat down and touching her thru the blankets talked to her. "It's okay Sam. Today is the day that you never have to worry about him ever again." She groaned, moving to stretch, her body moving under his fingers before he pulled back. He tried not to touch her in places that might set her off, unsure of how she would feel being touched on anything other than her knee or shoulder. She pulled back the blanket to peek up at him.

"Do I have to?" she questioned. She felt the anxiety eating at her, the feeling of it keeping her from taking a decent breath as her heart pounded roughly in her chest. She was sweating, though it could be from hiding under the blankets as well as the nightmares. It was early, the clock on the bed reading seven o'clock in the morning. He nodded, the small teen groaning. "Danny, I don't know if I can do it, not today." He smiled at her, the smile sad as he read her body, her eyes reflecting the fear that seemed to darken the normally bright amethyst gaze.

"Do you trust me?" he asked her. She seemed surprised at the question, but she nodded. "Do you trust that I will protect you and that I will stand by you no matter what?" Again she nodded, no hesitation in her responses. "Then we can do this because I trust that you are strong enough to tell the world that he is a monster. That he should never be allowed to be free to do what he did to you." She still seemed unsure. He reached out to take both of her hands in his, his blue eyes holding her own amethyst orbs. "Think about all those people who can never go home to their families. The people he murdered." The fear still flickered in her gaze, but now there was a sadness. "Be their voice, Sam. Be your voice and speak up. Don't allow him to hold you in that grip of fear, unable to fight back against him." He moved closer, pulling her into his arms. "Show him that he can't hurt you anymore, that others love you no matter what he thinks he did to change that." She nodded into his chest, tears in her eyes as she remembered the death she had seen at such a young age.

"At least I don't have to go in until I have to speak," she said, thankful that she didn't have to be around him for long. He smiled at her words, the knowledge that she was trying to be brave and while it was going to be hard to look at the male, to temper the fear that he had instilled in her, he knew she could do it.

"Are you ready?" She shook her head.

"Not really, but I want to get it over with." He chuckled at her, bestowing a kiss on her raven locks before leaving the room so she could dress.


	21. Chapter 21

An hour later found the pair of teens sitting outside the courtroom, his parents and Jazz sitting across from them. Sam wasn't in a dress like either of the Fenton females, the Goth preferring a pair of black slacks to go with the pale green turtleneck. Danny was in a pair of black slacks with a red collared shirt, the halfa watching her from the corner of his eye as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. He leaned over to pull her into his side, his own body tense with the anger that boiled just below the surface. He knew he had to keep it down, to suppress the urge to throttle the male in the other room. He could hear the muffled voices in the room behind him and was sure that Sam could tell that he was speaking, his answers to the prosecution unintelligible thru the wall. She was shaking slightly, but even she was trying to remain calm with the knowledge that she would have to face the one who had done everything he could in the last year to break her. Jazz got up, pushing the door open slightly so she could see what they were talking about. She flinched, her eyes growing wide and it was as if she had forgotten about the other people in the room as she took a step into the room, the door closing behind her.

Danny had been too engrossed with comforting the small Gothic female that he failed to notice his sister's face, though he did look up when his parents stood, both of them with concerned looks on their face. They opened the door now just as the prosecution said, "What is this place, Mr. Mason?" Silence as the male glanced at the map.

"That looks like a map of some islands," the blond stated, his tone one of boredom. Another click and three people in the household were stunned into silence at the image of the foreboding house, the windows barred up. Danny's brow rose at the sight of his reaction to whatever was being discussed in the other room. He stood, unaware that Sam was following him, but his parents stood in their way.

"Danny," his mother hissed while Jack tried to keep the small raven haired female from seeing what was on the other side of him, a click telling of the change on the slide.

"What about this place?" the older male asked the defendant. "Is it true that this house was created to house your child?" The halfa fazed thru his parents just as Sam grabbed onto him in confusion, her amethyst eyes widening at the question and the answer being presented before her. Danny didn't know what to do, his eyes taking in the picture of the house before him, the rooms being shown, unaware that Sam was looking at those images and the connotations of said place. "That this was to be the room that you made to keep her in when you weren't injecting her with your sperm?" It was too late, the image of the room with a bed, the chains hanging off the sides of the piece of furniture before another image was shown of an incomplete hospital area. She took a step further, her eyes locked on the pictures, forgetting that the male who had intended this for her was in the chair next to the pictures being shown.

"I do not know what you are speaking of," was the blond's response. He sounded disinterested with what he was being shown, but Sam's gaze was drawn to him as he spoke and she could see it in his eyes. He was thinking about what he had missed out on... The fact that he would not only have unlimited access to her, but she would never escape. Her hope would have died and he could have done what he had threatened, the reason she had stayed compliant even with her soul wilting. Another click showed the whole courtroom the paperwork that showed that he purchased it.

"We talked to the seller," the prosecution stated. "And he will be in that chair before the end of this so I suggest that you tell the truth." He smirked, his blue eyes like ice as he stared her down and while his words were spoken, she knew that he was sharing a message.

"I never bought a place to keep my minor female child," he said, a growl from the halfa next to her drawing her attention as she felt the chill coming from him. She knew that Jeremy was trying to bait, but she had thought he would do it to her, but he was directing his speech towards the halfa. She took a step back from the blond, choosing to ignore him and focus on the raven haired teen. "I didn't have this place built to keep her as a personal sex slave." She placed her hand in his, her fingers curling around his even as his whole body glowed blue. His parents took a step to stop him, several people in the gallery moving back as the chill seeped out of him, but all it took was Sam speaking to him, her voice so soft and shaky as she tried to control her own emotions.

"I will be right there at your side, holding your hand just like I promised you," she whispered, her lip curving slightly even as it trembled. "I trust that you would never let him hurt me again, so don't even give him the victory of your hate." He could see the fear in her eyes, everyone relaxing as the Goth pulled the halfa to a chair up front, her face pale even as she sat down. The raven haired ghost fighter pulled her into him after he had sat down. They were showing him that they were a united front and that they were strong enough to listen and not give him any satisfaction. His blue eyes flashed as Danny leaned against the Goth, his arm around her shoulder causing the older male to tense. Sam didn't notice how upset he was getting, at least not at first, but after Danny noticed he whispered to her.

"He doesn't seem to like me near you," the halfa stated with a soft smile. "Wanna watch him screw himself over?" She blinked at him, her amethyst eyes flickering towards the halfa for a moment before she noted that as the raven haired male's hand moved up her arm that the blond on the stand seemed to flush. She forced herself to remain calm, the male on the stand forgotten when goosebumps broke out on her own flesh, a flush of her own starting. She nodded when he stopped, the halfa taking her answer and moving to piss the older male off when it came time for him to answer.

"What about this?" the prosecutor inquired as he showed the home that same had escaped from, the raven haired female leaning towards Danny when the halfa leaned into her hair, her eyes drifting closed when his hot breath tickled her skin. Jeremy couldn't seem to concentrate, his blue eyes flashing at the fact that his once raven haired captive was actually enjoying the touches from the male next to her. "This house that you kept her in for a year." Another click showed the room that Sam had been kept in. Danny wasn't even paying attention anymore as he heard the soft moan from the female near him. Her body was shuddering as he ran his finger down her arm again, his lips brushing against her heated flesh.

It had started out as just fucking with the older male, his blue eyes filled with the flame of rage that seemed to grow with each touch of the halfa, but Danny wasn't looking at him, his senses taking in the Goth breathing harshly next to him. He felt like he could hear her heart... or maybe it was his that was beating so loudly, but it seemed to block out all other sounds except for the female he was touching. Her body twitched when he latched onto the skin between her neck and shoulder. Her taste had him licking his mark, the red circle fading slightly, though his mark stood out on her pale skin. "Mmmm... Da-anny." His whole body seemed to catch on fire at her words, her moaning of his name a plea that he wanted to fulfill.

"This room has be-" the prosecutor was cut off, the male he was questioning glowing a bright red at the fact that Sam was looking like he had wanted her when he had been taking her, punishing her with his own body as she screamed. The Goth was glowing as the male hiding behind her hair moved his fingers up her pale arm.

"Get your fucking hands off of her!" Jeremy suddenly shouted, the pair of teens pulling apart, a blush on both their faces as they looked down at their hands, though when the blond shouted out, "She belongs to me!" The halfa looked up, pulling Sam against his chest without thought. Sam didn't even realize what was happening, her body buzzing with a need that she couldn't place. It started in her stomach, a heat that had seemed to get hotter when Danny had been stroking her, his mouth making her yearn for something, but now she was just leaning into him as a growl of anger vibrated in his chest. "She will never be pure! She was defiled by me! I fucked her over and over!" Danny tightened his hold on her as if he could keep the words from entering her ears, but the raven haired teen had heard it. She tensed, hoping to block it out since she knew from the halfa's own words that he didn't see that defilement... that he knew of the darkness she had gone thru and didn't see anything but her light... Then again, he only knew a tip of that pain, of that darkness. Could he really want her knowing that she wasn't clean?

Danny could feel it coming off of her in waves and pulling back looked deep into her eyes, the teen before him trying to shutter her gaze, to lock him out of her pain, but he could already see it. He leaned down, his lips brushing hers and while there was a slight embarrassment hanging around them from the little session that had taken place just moments before, the Goth couldn't help but sigh into his mouth as he proved that he didn't see that darkness. She clung to him after he pulled back, the amethyst gaze glazed over. The raven haired halfa smiled down at her, his eyes filled with so many emotions. He had only intended to be her friend, the thought that it would take a long time before she was ready for anymore holding him back, but she didn't pull from him. She seemed to find her mind lost when they kissed and while he felt that same dazed feeling, the fact that she reacted in such a way made him think that she would accept a role in a romantic relationship. It could wait though as the pair watched the two officers by the judge helped to remove the blond male when he refused to stop talking, his voice high and angry.

"We will be taking a short recess while the defendant is dealt with," the older judge stated with a bang of his gravel.


	22. Chapter 22

Sam and Danny escaped out of the now loud room, the thunderous blond screaming as he struggled against his captors. It was almost so ironic to watch the male that had kept her in a room for a year as his captive, now being detained. The halfa took her over to a corner in the hallways that held several courtrooms. The raven haired female was shaking, her eyes gleaming with tears as she tried to calm her heart, the organ beating so strongly that the Goth was sure it would pop out of her chest. Danny pulled her into his arms while his parents stood off by the door to the room where Jeremy was being tried. "You okay?" he asked her, his right hand rubbing her back while the free one held her close to him. She wanted to lie, to tell him that she was fine, but there was no way that he would believe her with how strong the tremors coursing thru her body were. She shook her head, unable to say a word. "It's okay. We can wait out here until they call you in if that would help."

"N-No," she managed to stammer out. "I want to look him in the eye when they sentence him, to watch him drown in his own deeds." He didn't want her to have to go back in there, the room stifling with all the emotions from people in the large room. They stood there for thirty minutes before the bailiff called everyone back in, Jeremy no longer in the room since he couldn't seem to remain calm. The pair with Danny's parents behind them, walked back in towards the same seats in the front as the prosecution called another witness. There weren't very many since no one had even been aware that she had been in that house, the blond never letting her out. It seemed that time passed slowly when your emotions failed to stay in check, the raven haired female tense as she leaned against him.

"The court would like to call Samantha Manson to the stand," the prosecution stated, turning to look at her. For a moment it didn't seem that she was going to stand, her body so stiff that Danny was sure a stiff wind would blow her over, the halfa murmuring to her that he would be right by her side once she got up on the stand, that he would never leave her to fend for herself, not when he was there for her. Finally after a few short breaths to relax the Goth stood and walked into the gated area, the sound of the gate shutting making her jump, her eyes wide. Danny got up and heading for the back of the courtroom left the room for only a moment before coming to walk behind her and thru the gate, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. She almost jumped until she felt the chill from the halfa. That little chill seemed to calm her, the small female relaxing even as her eyes still held the fear that clung to her like a second skin. "Miss Manson," the older male said, leaning back for a moment as the pictures of where she had been housed appeared on the screen again. "Is this the place where you were kept?"

"Yes, sir," she said softly as she leaned toward the microphone before her.

"Were you allowed out of that house?"

"No, I was kept upstairs." Danny moved to her side, his hand coming to rest on her hands clenching tightly in her lap.

"Is this your room?" He clicked a button to show the space where her bed was, the rest of the room vacant.

"Yes," she said, her eyes burning with the tears that she had managed to corral. "That was my room." He clicked another button to show different views of the same room, the male explaining to the jury about what had been found and not found at the scene before asking her about it. "No, I was not allow-ed to have c-clothing. I was allowed no coverings save for a sheet."

"Was it to make it easy for him to rape you?" Sam shuddered, Danny growling slightly. She nodded, the male raising a brow at her while the judge prompted her to vocalize her answer.

"I don't know what h-his thought process-ss was on that," she stated even as she began to shake, the invisible male at her side leaning over to rub her back as she tried to stay calm. It wasn't an easy task with having to relive the time she had spent in captivity.

"How many times would he come into your room to rape you?" Her eyes closed for a moment when Danny's hand stopped moving. She didn't want to answer, her heart tightening in her chest. "Miss Manson, how many times did he come into your room to rape you?" She could feel the halfa at her side growing tense at the tone of the male, but she knew from her moments with the prosecution that it would be this cold, the male before her an emotionless being in the courtroom while he had been rather worried about her freaking out and had been more understanding.

"I don't know," she murmured. "Several times a day-y."

"Was this an everyday occurrence?"

"Y-Yes, it was an every day... occurrence." She leaned forward, the halfa beside her feeling the unease, the same feelings from that first day when she had told him she felt unclean. She was trying to pull away and now he knew it was because she felt that she was tainting him by even allowing him close. He moved his head closer to hers, his lips just inches from her ear.

"Sam, you aren't the bad person here," he whispered, his voice low enough that the mic didn't pick it up. "You aren't tainted and you can't taint me." She sighed as her heart did a little flip.

"Miss Manson," the prosecution said, another click showing a clip, one like the one that the halfa had seen being played for all to see, her body on clear display, the female near him paling as it showed her torment. "Do you recall this day?" A shudder went up her spine as the sound of her whimpers echoed around in the room. Some of the jury members were looking rather pale themselves. Maybe it was because she could see how sick they felt, a few women in the galley letting out shocked gasps, the Goth found it in her to speak.

"Yes, that was just a few months after he had kidnapped me." Danny began to rub her back again, the woman relaxing against him even as the people in the courtroom could see her unease with seeing the footage that she obviously had not been aware of until that day with Danny.

"You don't appear to be fighting," the male stated, the halfa's eyes narrowing for a moment. "Though we can see it in your face that you are clearly trying to hold it back." He clicked another button, another clip playing. "Were you being blackmailed or coerced into behaving that way?"

"Yes," was all she said. The older male asked her about what he held over her head and that seemed to upset the female, the same anger that had boiled over during the questioning about the people who had aided her. "He was going to kill more people if I fought back and with the track record he had I knew he would do it." Several people began to murmur, the judge slamming his gavel as he called for silence in the room. Another clip came to the screen, another one of the house, the hallway to her room where the broken gate stood.

"What about this?"

"That was the gate that he had installed to keep me upstairs." After a few more questions, some that tested the emotions of the female in the seat before the attorney for her father stepped up, his eyes a cold green that seemed to be looking into her soul. That's when it got harsh, the other male being more tactful... this male was not.

"While the prosecution seems to be under the impression that you were just a victim," he said with a scoff. "You welcomed those advances from the man who wasn't even your biological father." He clicked a button to show the happy child that Sam appeared to be in the pictures taken at an event, one of many that Sam was forced to attend. Sam stayed quiet, waiting for his question. "In fact, there seems to be some inconsistencies in your statements since I was under the impression that you were planning to run away with him as soon as you turned eighteen." Again, Sam said nothing, her body tense as she felt the power coming from the halfa at her side. This male was in the crossfire with his accusations. "Were you not about to inherit several million dollars if you married him and produced heirs?"

"No," she said. "I don't know anything about that, but I was not going to run away with him." Her eyes were shuttered, but it was impossible to keep the anger in a cage, the feeling boiling beneath the surface with the disgust at what he was implying. Another click showed a document, only one signature on it while another space was left clear.

"Then what is this?" It seemed to all watching that the Goth had no idea what he was showing her, the amethyst orbs narrowing slightly to read what it was, but the male that was defending her father clicked the image away before she had a chance to get a good look at it. Nothing was on the screen at that moment, the raven haired teens on the stand wondering as to what the paper had been. "You were a willing partner in deaths of all those employed at the house. You knew what was going on, the people disappearing. You knew about it and yet you didn't come forward."

"I only ever saw him go into a rage once," she said, her temper rising with the baiting by the male before her, the halfa at her side trying to keep himself from kicking the ass of the lawyer even as he tried to keep her calm with softly spoken words.

"You helped him hide the bodies!" the male claimed, another picture filling the screen, the male before her thinking he had her, but when the girl behind the stand visibly paled her face changing to a green tint before she looked around her for a place to empty her bowls, the lawyer realized that he had been played. He had been told by his client that the Goth was his helper in hiding the bodies. The judge seemed to realize himself that the raven haired female needed to empty her stomach and hollering for a trash supplied Sam with a place to vomit. Everyone watched as the teen turned and threw up, the sound echoing in the silent room. When she felt a bit better she seemed to collapse in the seat of the stand. He still had a job to do, but the lawyer was unsure if he should continue with his line of questioning and so he said, "No further questions." The white haired judge turned to the prosecutor, his eyes asking the unspoken question of if he had any more questions.

"I don't have any questions for this witness," the male said, allowing Sam to return to her seat, the halfa walking behind her to keep her steady. As soon as she was in her seat the raven haired male at her side disappeared only to reappear from the doors outside the courtroom. "I do have a clip, a bit of evidence for the jury to see." Moving around his table he grabbed the button from the lawyer, a look in his eyes of disgust before pressing play.

**Sam was sitting in an interrogation room, the officer across from her asking about how she had managed to escape the house that had held her for the last year. Beside her sat the wig, her own raven locks shorter than the ones of the wig. She ran her fingers thru her hair, the locks wet with sweat.

"Some robbers came to the house," the raven haired girl said, taking the glass of water that had been offered to her once she had reached the station. Taking a sip she set it back on the table. "and he was gone so when they headed up the stairs they broke the gate... I escaped."

"How were you able to leave the state so quickly when from what was in that room you had no clothing," the male stated, his partner entering with a couple cups of coffee. "There was no female clothing in the house." He hinted at her attire. "And yet you have female clothing on."

"Why does it matter?" she asked. "I know that you want to catch them, but I can't tell you much about them anyway. They wore masks that covered their faces and the house was blacked out." The officer frowned at her tone, the slight hitch of her chin as her eyes flashed angrily.

"We just want to do our job," the partner stated, her green eyes tinted with brown. "They may have been the ones to free you, but they still st-"

"From a murder? A rapist? A pedophile?" Sam was ticked off and it was easy to see. "Hell, I heard that some of your own were in on what happened to me! The people who are supposed to protect people, the child that I was, from such things happening!"**

No one said a thing, even the judge seemed appalled at the behavior of the cops and their treatment of the raven haired female. They could see the revulsion at their questions, the fact that they were more concerned with something that had ended up aiding a young female that had been treated appallingly. Danny had come in past this point and while his mother had been just as confused as to what they had said to set her off, he could see now why she was so pissed off.

**"Hell, if you had just let me stay with the Fentons I would have not have been taken and..." she faltered, her body stiffening. "I would not have been violated in such a way! How would you like to be forced to walk around naked, if you could walk around, unable to hide your shame. To know that the reason you were forced to be in a state of undress was so that your captive had easy access to what he considered his!?" The pair leaned away from her, her small hands flat on the table as she glared at them. "To be kept in a cold house so you didn't have the power to even try and escape!? Hell, I was lucky if I ate anything in a weeks time!"

"How about knowing that if you didn't do what was commanded of you that the person causing you all that pain held the lives of others in his hand?" Neither said anything. "Yeah, how would it feel to know that what he threatened was no only a threat but nothing for him to baulk at? He had done it already! I thought they were only nightmares, but when he told me he killed my mother..." she faded off with a shake of her head. "I knew they were memories that I had blocked... I saw it happen just once. That was all it took to remind myself never to follow your father's angry words with anyone." She shuddered. "So, when a burglary is more important than a real victim..." She left it at that.**

The clip ended, the jury looking rather disgusted with the way the girl had been treated and the fact that it was all spelled out for them, all that had happened in that house. Jeremy's lawyer put his head down, the knowledge that he had been hired to defend someone that had gone far beyond what was considered sick and twisted. The door behind the judge opened to reveal a rather sedated male, his eyes still cold as he moved into the room. He said nothing, though his gaze locked onto his victim, the Goth having closed her eyes as she lay with her head on the halfa's shoulder.


	23. Chapter 23

The prosecutor wasn't done with trashing the wealthy male, his next pic one that caught several people's attention, those of the two raven haired teens in the front row sitting up straight as the image on the screen was of a map with a lone island on the waters. "I would like to call Jeremy Mason back up to the witness chair to explain this map for me." The blond was still glowering as he took the stand, his blue eyes never even locking on the image as they bore into the amethyst gaze that was looking at the island in confusion. "Mr. Manson, an answer for what this is." The blond didn't even move though he did answer.

"I have no idea what that is," he said, his voice cold. "It looks like a map with an island on it." Another flick of the screen revealed the actual island as it was viewed from a distance, but even in that distance you could see that there were several people on it, a house behind them as they looked towards the camera capturing them.

"This isn't the island you purchased with the sole plan of keeping your minor child, once she was a legal adult, captive for several years while she produced several heirs for you?" Jeremy looked at him now, his eyes shuttered as he shook his head.

"I don't know what you are speaking of," was his response. "I may be wealthy enough to purchase such a place, but why would I do that for that purpose? I had left the state to grieve my dear wife's death." Several people shook their head at his words, the news already out about his wife's unfortunate death and even her involvement in the treatment of her only child as well as the deaths that were done on the property.

"We are not talking about how you killed your wife, that will be brought up in a short while," the male stated. Another click of his button revealed the inner workings of the house, several photos flickering for everyone to see. The house was huge! It had several rooms such as a kitchen and even a living room for hosting guests, though it was obvious that it would host no fancy parties unless it was people from the darkness that knew what he was doing. His friends, if he had any, and family would never step foot in this house... Then a room was shown, the obvious use for it being the room that the Goth would have been kept in with chains that hung from the wall above the bed, the door a gate with another door to keep her hidden should someone come to the house or maybe for her children when they got older. There was no telling, but the Goth in question was now wide eyed as she saw the place he had intended to keep her, the real prison manufactured for her and his sick plans for her.

Danny was growling next to her, his chill moving across the bench even as she shook next to him. He tried to tone it down, the knowledge that he could scare her in the same way as he had when he had frozen his bed, but it was hard to when you could see what the one you truly cared about was fated to endure. "Danny," she whispered, her fingers moving over his own as she grasped his chilly hand. "I-It's okay. He didn't get his wish and that's because of you." He turned to look at her and while there was fear in her eyes there was also gratefulness. She was afraid for what could have been, but it wasn't and she was looking to him for that understanding. Understanding that he had stopped it and that she was safe. Understanding that Jeremy was going away and that he would never ever be able to do what he had wanted. Smiling he allowed himself to bask in her strength. This woman at his side had dealt with it for so long, had endured all that life had thrown at her and yet she was still willing to allow him to hold her hand, to touch her without flinching when his mother had told him how some women came out from such a trial. She was young and yet with that youth had come understand that the torment didn't have to continue and that with people like him and his family she was safe. They turned back to look at Jeremy as he continue to try and play dumb even as the clips from the house were gone and now there were pictures of the family home where Pamela lay in the bed where the pair of them had slept, her body just a bloody mess.

Blood dripped down the yellow walls, the white carpet littered with bloody footsteps that were half there when the culprit had stepped into the puddles that formed from the flowery bedspread. Sam was forced to look away, Danny pulling her into his chest as she let out a gasp of shock at what she had seen. Sure, her mother hadn't been the best parent, her acts heinous but that was nothing compared to what her husband had done. More clips were shown of how officers had come upon the scene, their reactions so violent as some had to leave the room while others turned from the scene to even one of them, the one recording, rushing off to vomit outside in the front lawn. It was so gruesome, the red headed woman not only killed but dismembered to the point that she had no form, her head bashed in, the blood and brain matter still falling down the headboard just inches from her prone form. It was a murder of passion and rage. He had been angry at her, upset that Sam had managed to escape him even for those few days.

"This is just one of many murders, the last one on record, but just one of many as several of your former employees were found buried in the backyard in mass graves." Another several pictures were shown. "It even appears, with DNA evidence and after several of those bodies were autopsied that your wife knew of this and aided in taking care of them herself." He showed an image of when the red head had been at the police station, her face bruised as well as her exposed arms. "I would think it was because of the violent man that you are that she was afraid that you would do her harm should she talk back. Hell, I wonder if she knew that you weren't above killing her should she outlive her usefulness."

"She killed those people," was all he said, his eyes back onto his victim and the male at her side. He was still ticked off at what they had been doing before, the pair of them cuddling before him... her expression of pleasure still burning at him and even thought they weren't really doing that kind of cuddling now the male was still ticked off that she was so close to the other male and that the halfa didn't seem to care that Sam had been his first. She was only his and no one would have her, but that was being proven to be wrong. The raven haired male wasn't looking at her with disgust, no, he was looking at her with such adoration and love. That was making the blond even more angry.

"No, you killed those people whether it was in rage or just because they crossed your path, we will never know, but we know one thing, Mr. Manson," the prosecutor stated with certainty. "The evidence points to you being the killer and that you were the one that was behind the purchase of the house on the island." Heading over to the table where his briefcase lay the male produced a piece of paper. "These are the documents from the sale of the island from one, Chernobog, otherwise known as the mastermind behind the largest human trafficking ring." The paper was handed off to the judge, the male behind the podium taking a hard look at the documents in his hand before another was thrust under his nose with Jeremy's signature on it to show that it was a match. It was handed back and show to the jury, the blond being locked into his coffin with each nail hammering into it, the sound resonating with Sam and Danny as they watched the male in question squirm slightly. His cold demeanor was looking rather pale as his eyes darkened with the knowledge that there was no way out of this. There was too much against him and then the blond suddenly stood, his eyes narrowed.

"So I killed those fucking servants! They were nothing! Just peons that were paid to do my whims, no matter what that was! As for my wife, she was just there to provide me with funds for my plans! She was nothing but a mistake with her plain coloring and as for her!" he screamed, his finger pointing to the raven haired teen now looking at him from the safety of Danny's arms, her eyes wide at his bellowing, "She was mine to do with, given to me by my wife when she went out and got pregnant!" He jumped over the stand, his shoes hitting the ground with a resounding sound as screams of fear and outrage filled the room. "I may not have brought her into the world but I sure as fuck can take her out of it!" He turned and punched a bailiff before taking the gun out of his holster, the other bailiff at a loss as he was shot, his blood filling the air as several people rushed to leave the horror that was taking place in the large courtroom, more officers filing in from the side door to assist in taking down the enraged male. The judge moved back, his own eyes wide at what was happening before him, though he did slam his hand on a hidden button to alert the authorities of the scene playing out before him. He shot them before turning toward Danny and Sam. "You won't even get to have her!" A blast filled the air, the sound of Sam's whimpers just barely audible...


	24. Chapter 24

Danny let out a scream of anguish, a terrible shot having struck the raven haired girl in his arms. It had been so fast and yet the young teen was angry and frustrated with the girl laying in his arms, her blood coating his legs as it spilled onto the ground below him. More shots rang around him, the room filled with the echoes of bullets raining out, screams of spectators running for their lives, his own parents calling out in alarm as another scream joined the sounds around him. This one was the last breath of one male, his blond hair staining with red when his lifeless body hit the wooden surface of the floor. Danny felt himself being yanked up, the raven haired teen in his arms still silent, her body hanging limply as he clung to her, the person who had him, taking them outside, past several people laying motionless as they hid low on the ground. It wasn't any more silent in the outside world with sirens wailing as red and blue blurred his vision, tears streaming down his face. It seemed that the world was ending with all the chaos going on around them, but the halfa seemed to be unaware of all of it as he began to speak, pleading with the female who he had saved from a fate worse than death.

"Sam, please wake up," he said, his voice rough with fear. He was sat down, Sam laid down as he touched down, though he never released her as he pleaded further with her, the small Goth immobile. He pulled back, his hands moving down her body, the blood soaking her top making it hard to see where the wound was, but as soon as his fingers grazed the left part of her torso a groan escaped her pale lips. She winced as she forced his hand away from the site.

"Ow," she muttered. Danny couldn't believe what he was seeing, the raven haired teen opening her amethyst eyes slowly. "That hurts." The halfa wanted to laugh at her words, the relief making him feel crazy. His lips crashed on hers, the feeling of exuberation coursing thru his veins, her body stiffening before relaxing, though she did push him away rather quickly, a groan on her lips. "Gonna have to slow down." She flushed brightly. "Still in pain here." He blushed now, realizing that he was staring at a female who had just taken a bullet.

"Is she okay?" a voice asked, the halfa turning to see his father, the blood on his suit almost a sin with how the male adorned his orange jumpsuits, but this time he paid it no heed. The raven haired ghost fighter nodded, his mother appearing behind her husband with a sigh of relief.

"Thank god!" the red head said as she hugged her husband. It was then that the small group noticed that it wasn't as hectic around them as it had just been moments ago. The shots had gone silent, the screams dying as officers moved around the surrounding mass of people. An EMT approached them, his crewmate with him, the pair moving with a stretcher to take the Goth. Sam didn't fight as they loaded her onto the stretcher, strapping her down before taking her toward an awaiting ambulance, more EMT's leaving the courtroom with other patients, but it was the body bag that caught the attention of the halfa and his parents, Sam already heading toward the hospital. Danny would have gone with her, but he wanted to know the fate of the one male that had tormented the Goth for most of her life. He was sure with all the court shows he had watched growing up, both real and fictional, that he was dead. There was no way that he would be allowed to go free since he had not only killed so many people before this day, but with the carnage that he had unloaded on this day that he would take death by cop. Maybe not by choice, but he had wanted to take Sam out and that would have resulted in his death, a joyful one for him if he took the raven haired teen, but he had not counted on her moving at that moment. She had seen his aim, knowing that he would have hit him too and had pushed him to the side, her body taking the bullet meant for them both.

"What happened?" Jack asked, sure that he had seen it all, but when the first bullet had been fired he had been heading for his child and the small girl with him, his paternal instinct kicking in. Maddie had been behind him, but then more shots had been fired. "Did sh-" Danny nodded, cutting his father off. "But why?" That was a good question, but then again he hadn't even thought to throw up a ghost shield or anything so maybe she had made the best choice. He voiced this to his father, slight shame at not reacting appropriately.

"Oh, son, that's not your fault," his mother stated, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You weren't expecting him to do that, none of us were." Except for Sam. She didn't have to say it for him to know what she didn't voice. Sam had been around him all her life, knowing that he was a killer had come as a shock, but after spending a year with him she knew his dark side. She knew how far he would go and that had been a saving grace and a curse. She shouldn't have had to go thru all that and it wouldn't have happened had they just left the Goth in the care of the Fentons. That was what the raven haired female had even said. She had been safe with them.

Stepping from his parent's side, he walked over to the EMT's carting a body bag toward an ambulance near him. Stopping them by grabbing the handle of the stretcher he asked them, "Is he in here?" The two males in blue didn't even have to guess who he was talking about. One of them reached over and unzipped the bag for the halfa to see who was in the plastic coffin. The blue eyes that looked back at him, the veil of death unable to take the murderous gaze away, let the raven haired male know that Sam was safe. Her father would never come after her, she would never have to look over her shoulder, fear that she would have to endure that life again of being violated, was over. She was free as were the people who would have died the moment they entered that home, that house of death. Some blood oozed down his eyes, the hole in his head not what he had expected. Shows were not real life and while in the movies it was a single hole with a bit of blood, this was not. It was a crater in his head, his skull clear to see with some brain matter leaking out over what was left of his blond locks.

Nodding, the halfa stepped back, watching as they loaded his body up before taking to the skies, his parents smiling as they watched him leave. It would be okay. Everything, though sad, would be better now. The families of those that had been killed by the wealthy male could now have closure, others who could have been killed by him would live and Sam would be able to live the way she wanted to. "Can we speak with you?" Jack and Maddie turned to face two officers, both faces grim as more people were loaded into the ambulances behind them. Jack nodded. "Can you tell us what you witnessed?" Nodding the pair began to explain what had happened, and what they had felt had led to the male going on killing spree in the courthouse.

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Danny flew over the city, seeing nothing but the hospital in the distance. He was sure that Sam was fine, her mood not that of one on the brink of death, but who was to say that she wasn't a good actress and able to fool him when she might be dying. He sped up, hitting the building and going thru until he found the ER on the first floor, the place packed with patients and doctors alike, the group a moving machine of people rushing to save lives. He headed for the front desk, his blue eyes ever alert for any sign that the Goth was already at the hospital.

There was a dark haired female behind the counter, two other nurses beside her gathering paperwork or answering the phone as people milled around him in either a gloomy mood or happy as a doctor came and told them good news. He didn't wait for the nurse to see him before asking, "Sam Manson?" The green eyes of the nurse lifted up to look at him, her eyes dead with fatigue.

"Can I help you?" she asked, her tone also filled with the emotion in her eyes.

"I am looking for Sam Manson. She was brought in with the other people in the courthou-" She held up her hand, a sign that she wanted him to shut up, the halfa unhappy with the attitude when he was just worried about the Goth and her condition. Before she could say something the male before her transformed, his eyes flashing green as he glared at her. He might be a teen and maybe he was just too emotional after all that had happened, but he could care less about that when this woman before him was being rather cold. She might be tired, but damn it he was too. He was emotionally exhausted and with the trial he had gotten little in the way of sleep. Hell! He had seen death, the shots so close to where the pair had been sitting in that courtroom so for him wanting something as simple as the condition of his... what was she? She was a friend, but he felt there was mo- He gave himself a mental shake, power coursing into his gloved fingertips. "If you could just tell me if she is here and how she is doing," he muttered, his tone cold now.

She was looking at him differently now, her green eyes wide in fear as she pointed down the hall. "S-She is in surgery." Dissipating his energy, his fingers smoking for a second as he put the energy ball out he nodded.

"Thank you." That was all that was said before he de-transformed, his green eyes now a cold blue. Walking away he found a seat close by, the people who had witnessed his transformation moving away from him. Though most of them knew that he was a good guy, there was still a few people that were wary of his existence. It didn't take long for a doctor to appear, the same dark headed nurse still shaken as she pointed him out, her words unheard by him, but he was sure they were of warning for his own safety. The white haired male just shook his head before coming over to him, a smile on his lips.

"You must be Danny," he said, his brown eyes twinkling. "First I must say that I have never seen her looking so rattled." Danny blinked in surprise. He was sure that this older male would berate him for scaring his co-worker, but for him to make a comment was rather shocking. "Miss Manson is doing fine. She has no internal bleeding, only a wound on her side so there were no major arteries or organs that were struck. She is lucky all in all." The halfa could feel that final knot of unease release as he let out a breath he hadn't even realized that he was holding.

"When can I see her?" he asked.

"Well, you can go and sit with her, but she is still out from the surgery." He turned and walked with Danny down to the elevator just to the left of the ER's waiting room. "She is on the fourth floor, room 402." The raven haired male was wondering how long she was going to be there when the older male answered him. "She only needs to be here for a night or two so we can keep an eye on her. Just because she wasn't injured in a more critical area doesn't mean she can't get an infection." He turned, leaving the halfa alone as the elevator door opened. He didn't plan on leaving her for those days that she had to stay in the hospital, in fact he didn't plan to leave her side any time soon.

It took him little time, turning intangible instead of taking the elevator, to find her room, the raven haired female laying prone in the bed, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Taking a seat next to her bed, he took her hand, the heat in that small appendage reassuring as he waited for her to awaken.


End file.
